Who Said Saving the World was Easy?
by LetMagicGuidetheWay
Summary: Two girls, Hailey and Julie, have been chosen to go on a mission back in time to defeat Lord Voldemort before he rises to a dangerous seat in power. However, they can't defeat him alone. They befriend the Marauders, a group of devilishly handsome and charming boys. In a story full of heartbreak, angst, hope, and love, will Hailey and Julie end up going through with the mission?
1. The Mission

**CHAPTER ONE: THE MISSION**

_A/N: First off, thanks to all those planning to read this story. It means a lot. I'm guessing most of you are huge Marauder/Harry Potter fans like me, so I strongly hope I don't disappoint you. I've been working long and hard on this story, so I really want people to enjoy it. The main characters in this story, Hailey and Julie, are my own characters, so please don't steal them. This story, for the most part, is set in the Marauder era; however, it starts off when Harry's sons, James (the eldest) and Albus, are at Hogwarts and, in my mind, McGonagall is the Headmistress. It IS a Marauder story, and in due time, you will see that for yourself. If you have any questions, comments, or concerns about the story, feel free to ask me (even anonymously) on the story's tumblr, .com. In the meantime, sit back, relax, and relish this twist of a timeless classic. I hope you enjoy._

_**I DO NOT OWN HARRY POTTER. I AM A WITHERING MESS OF A MARAUDER FANGIRL. J. K. ROWLING IS ONE OF MY INSPIRATIONS. THEREFORE, I'D BE VERY HAPPY IF YOU DON'T SUE ME. THANKS. **_

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Professor McGonagall rushed into her office. Sweat was pouring down her face and her palms were sticky and wet. Loose, thin strands of light grey hair plastered itself to her forehead, making her look older than ever. She had to constantly remind herself that agreeing to become headmistress came with responsibility, stress, and authority over many situations in which she would have no control; however, it seemed to be worth it in the end. Rummaging through her drawers and cabinets, she kept asking herself, _Where is it? It's got to be here somewhere..._

McGonagall suddenly heard a rapt knocking at her door. Still rushing around her now messy oval office, she wasn't exactly in the mood for visitors.

"Come in," she coached desperately. She flicked her wand toward the tall, wooden oak door and it was thrown open. Standing in the doorway was a short, black-haired, bright green-eyed second year with confusion sketched upon his face.

McGonagall's face suddenly turned less frantic as the sight of one of her favorite students filled her eyes.

"Albus! What are you doing out of class?" she asked, eyeing the boy suspiciously. Albus wasn't the kind of boy you'd catch breaking the rules; James, on the other hand, was the precise opposite of his younger brother. James was _exactly_ like his grandfather, his namesake, and it reflected in both his grades and rambunctious behavior.

_But now is not the time to be reminiscing about the Potter's! I need to find it!_ McGonagall reminded herself, and anxiously awaited the reply. Albus, being as shy and sensitive as he was, noted his headmistress' strict tone and spoke fast, flinging some words together.

"I – I got this in the mail today, Professor, and I was told to give it to you," Albus started. He wanted to get his excuse in though, and kept talking. "There was a letter attached to the outside. It said for me to give this to you during my first class of the day. That way no one would see me with it or ask what it was. I'll make up for any work I missed and I'm so sorry for bothering you, miss. I promise it won't happen again."

Professor McGonagall merely blinked with shock. Her glasses stood at the foot of her nose, angled precisely. Her eyes ventured through the lenses and examined her young student.

If James – _Well, either of the James'_, she added to herself with a chuckle – had been caught sneaking out during class, they would have taken their punishment as trophies. But Albus had definitely inbred a quarter of both his parent's personalities, and the other half was completely Lily's, his grandmother. Defenseless, scared, yet brave all the same.

"Don't worry Albus—"

"Call me Al...that is, if you don't mind, Professor McGonagall," he added quickly, to ensure his request came off as polite. "I was named after one of the greatest wizards of all time, and I—" he cut off, not really knowing what to say. "I just can't live up to that." This was the part of the speech when his older brother would comment, "...and never will," but since James wasn't there, it was quite nice for Al to say what he felt.

"Of course, Al." Al's headmistress gave a sharp smile, and then continued. "But as I was saying, you don't need to worry about a punishment. That's what your brother's for." Al laughed at this very accurate statement. "But what is in the package? Who sent it?"

"My father sent it," replied Albus, "and I honestly don't know. The note said not to open it."

"Oh, I see," Professor McGonagall told the green eyes that had once belonged to Lily Evans. "Well, you can hand it over to me. Thank you for bringing it Albus - Al," she corrected with a small smile.

"You're welcome, Professor," he replied with a smile as imaginative as his father's.

"Go on to class now. Tell your teacher you had to speak with me. If you have any complications, just tell them to come to me after class."

As Minerva McGonagall walked over to Albus, the light from the window made it obvious she was still aging. Her hair was almost snow white, and it seemed as if every day she had gained a few more wrinkles. She picked up the box from the boy's soft, petite hands and watched him turn to walk out of her office. Professor McGonagall was about to untie the strings of the old-fashioned, brown package when she heard a voice.

"Goodbye, headmistress," said the mousy voice of one Al Potter as he shut the tall oak door. Minerva sighed.

"Goodbye, Al." As Minerva McGonagall almost choked up, thoughts surrounding her memory of Harry's second year filling her mind, she laid the package to the side. A soft yet commanding voice boomed across the headmistress' office.

"Open the box, Minerva."

She jumped, and then swiveled around to the portrait that hung above the windows.

"Oh, hello Albus," she found herself saying again.

Albus Dumbledore's sparkling blue eyes twinkled, and he tilted his head knowingly. "This is the package. This is what you were looking for."

Professor McGonagall suddenly stood up and threw a wrinkled hand through her thin, tangled hair. How could that be the package? How did it go from the locked drawers of her desk to the hands of Harry Potter?

"I beg your pardon, Professor Dumbledore?"

Dumbledore chuckled and pulled his falling glasses farther up his nose. "Of course, you wouldn't understand."

Minerva looked troubled. "What do you mean, I 'wouldn't understand'—"

"You might want to sit down, Headmistress."

Minerva did as she was told. She grabbed the package, walked over to the chair in front of her desk that was usually occupied by students, and sat down. She put the package in her lap, and stared up at the wall where Dumbledore was speaking. "So is there an explanation to why Harry Potter got the package that you gave to _me_,specifically, after your—" She stopped as a heated lump formed in her throat.

Dumbledore smiled wisely, his long, snow white beard and mustache lifting as he did so. "After my death, you mean? The package that had said to open it October 15, 2018? Well yes, this has everything to do with that, and more."

Minerva stayed silent, allowing Dumbledore to continue.

"When Lord Voldemort first rose to power, as you know, the wizarding world was in shock. Never had there been such a powerful Dark wizard with so many talented, faithful followers. The Ministry never fully grasped the concept that there was a league of wizards beyond their control and capture. Therefore, parts of the Ministry became overly strict, other parts giving up all together. Your best friend could have been a Death Eater, or could have been under the Imperius Curse, and you could have never known.

"The Order of the Phoenix, the organization that you kindly helped me put together, assisted tremendously in the capture of Death Eaters, and eventually gave Harry Potter the chance to kill Voldemort, the man we both knew as Tom Riddle. But we both know how much it cost to get there."

Professor McGonagall's throat had an even huger lump in it than before, now almost hurting her insides. She nodded shakily; the memory of her friends would never leave her.

Dumbledore loosened. "I knew that one day Harry Potter would defeat Voldemort. No doubt ever seemed to cross my mind. I knew that, whether I was alive or sitting in this portrait, Harry would live even higher than my standards, find and destroy the Horcruxes, and defeat the Dark wizard that our world had been afraid of for so many years. But it also repeatedly crossed my mind that he did it not for fame or to have another title given to his name, but for his friends – the ones that died fighting alongside him, believing in Harry just as much as I did and still do.

"But, as I thought of this, I wondered what would happen if we could change what occurred. So many people died unnecessary deaths; Harry was left without any parents, and one by one the people in his life that had lived up to those standards passed on as well."

Minerva quickly thought of Sirius Black, Dumbledore himself, and Remus Lupin, all of whom sacrificed their lives so that Harry could fulfill his destiny. Professor McGonagall remembered how, after Sirius died, Harry hadn't seemed like himself for a while; then again, he was a growing boy at the time.

Professor Dumbledore gave a slight cough, excused himself, and then kept talking, as though he were actually alive and well.

"So, I did what happened to have failed twice; I intended send two people back in time to when Harry Potter's parents went to school. I thought that if we could do that, we could possibly kill Tom Riddle before Harry Potter was even born. If we told the time travelers about the Horcruxes, how many would have already been made, and where to possibly find them, we could destroy the extra pieces of Voldemort's soul. Hopefully, after doing so, we could extinguish him once and for all, before he rose to a higher seat in power and killed too many innocent lives." Dumbledore paused, and glanced at McGonagall. She seemed flustered.

"Wait…so you want me to send two people back in time? How am I supposed to wipe the whole school's brains out of their existence, much less their parents, families, Muggles…and how do we even know that they go back far enough?"

Dumbledore sighed as though recounting a bad memory. "Remember Cedric Diggory?"

Professor McGonagall huffed with pride. "Of course I remember Cedric! The poor dear, he was awfully good at Transfiguration, too…" Suddenly her eyes widened and her teeth showed agitation. "Albus!"

"Yes?" asked Dumbledore, who pretended to be playing with his beard.

"Albus, did you send that boy back in time!" asked McGonagall fiercely.

Dumbledore looked down into Minerva's eyes, and stated, "No, I didn't. But you did."

"What!"

Dumbledore's eyes began to shine of impatience. "Do you care for an elaboration?"

"I—" Minerva stopped and stayed silent, though her face bore stubbornness that could be seen even through her wrinkles.

The former headmaster sighed. "Cedric Diggory, originally, went to school around this time period. We decided, as Harry's son had grown fond of him, to launch him back in time to when the first James Potter went to Hogwarts, in hope that a bond would form. That obviously, however, failed. We didn't send him far enough back, and he ended up being barely older than Harry Potter himself! When we found this imperfection in the original plan, we decided not to send our second student; we had planned for the mission to work for a pair of students. Cedric ended up being our first and only contender for a while.

"A few years later, however, Lily, Harry's daughter, became friends with one Nymphadora Tonks. We decided to try Nymphadora out, but she too didn't go far enough back in time—however, she went farther back than Cedric. Tonks gradually fell in love with and married Remus Lupin: a flaw in our plan that we had not foreseen. What if someone fell in love? It was such a simple thing that could have gone wrong, and yet neither you nor I had seen it coming. Of course, as soon as both of them landed in the wrong place in time, the reminder of Horcruxes and Voldemort completely wore off and out of their brains; however, I still wondered if my plan could work…this plan, by the way, having been strewed up during my last few years as Headmaster. In the case that the first attempt did not succeed, I ensured that there were secondary missions and packages ready to take action, stationed with other wizards and witches…hence why Harry Potter found this package today, and not you."

McGonagall's brain could have been compared to a full-blown train trying to travel through a small, cardboard box. There was too much information that her former boss was announcing to her for anything to make sense. She gulped. "So—so, you're trying to make me believe that I've already sent two of my students into the past, and yet have no recollection of either acts?"

Dumbledore nodded.

"That's absurd! Albus, how can you perform a spell that advanced…that risky…that _dangerous_… without a commemoration?"

Albus sighed. "You have performed a Memory Charm on yourself. This is rarely done, but two times you have succeeded and have sat before me today. Actually, this is the third time you've sat before me today, but let's not make the conversation too complicated."

McGonagall's mouth gaped in disbelief. _It's too late for that,_ thought Professor McGonagall, though she shined of importance, and her eyes let Dumbledore know she was starting to catch on.

Dumbledore was starting to look grayer; he obviously wasn't supposed to be moving and talking this long in his portrait. "I hope you don't mind Professor," he said, "but I feel my time with you is about to come to a closure, so I probably should quickly run over the rest of the plan. You must do as I say, and not ask any questions."

Minerva McGonagall straightened up in her seat, her ears ready, her eyes worried. "Yes, Albus."

Dumbledore's mouth immediately began moving; he talked fast, but not without clarity and punctuation. "I've been thinking for a long time how I could keep these flaws from occurring time after time. I think I have found the answer. We, so far, have attempted to send a known wizard and witch back, so why not try the Muggle-borns that have yet to know their fate?"

Minerva's mouth dropped, about to try and knock sense into her once-colleague. She then remembered she had agreed with him to not protest, so stayed silent in her seat. McGonagall fidgeted her thumbs together anxiously.

"I know that for a while now, Hogwarts has been letting children in with great difficulty. Harry's adventures and triumphs are now known to most Muggles, which has made it harder for the wizarding community to remain a secret and merely a myth among those whom are unmagical. We may have not let in or accepted children that could have possibly become extraordinary witches and wizards; this, I feel, you regret. But it was a wise choice, as some of these children would go home immodest and show their acceptance letters to their siblings and friends. This would not be an easy burden for the Ministry to lift. However, I thought that if we could find two that have completely ordinary lives, two that have a sense for adventure and a will to have a real purpose in life, they would keep it a secret. They'd have to, anyways.

"The Memory Charm I would like for you to place on them is very advanced magic, but knowing you, you will face no severe trouble," Dumbledore reassuringly informed McGonagall.

Minerva replied with an uneasy smile.

Dumbledore returned the smile with gratitude, though could feel himself fading. "You need to first wipe their memories of all the life before them…all the friends they've known, their family, their schools, their towns…I want their whole memory shattered, except for the ability to talk, spell, write and read, or any other basic skill that is taught in a Muggle school. Then, I would like for you to place a false memory in their head of the family that they had and will stay with, the names of which will be concealed in the letter that is shown in the box. These girls are to think that they have been transferred from the Salem Witches' Institute in America, a result of both their families having to take jobs in London."

Minerva McGonagall nodded her head, trying to remember key things that Dumbledore said: _"things taught in Muggle school," "family, friends…" "new family found in note,"_ and _"Salem Witches' Institute in America."_

Dumbledore's mustache twitched as a sign of him losing control of talking. "Lastly," Dumbledore finalized, in a voice that seemed to echo off the walls of what was once his office, "both of these girls are fourteen. You need to use a growth Potion to make them sixteen, and try sending them both to their sixth year at Hogwarts. The reason why their age is crucial is also included in the—" Dumbledore was starting to grow stiff, "—letter…if I forgot anything, you should find it too in the…package…" Dumbledore seemed to have frozen, until his blue eyes gradually moved back toward McGonagall and his lips barely moved. "I trust you."

Former Headmaster Albus Dumbledore suddenly closed his eyes and started to sleep a well-earned nap; the portraits of dead headmasters and headmistresses were not supposed to talk or move in extended periods of time or else they would get worn out. Professor McGonagall stood frozen in her seat, and after a short period of contemplation, stood up.

Her wrinkled hands twitched as she tried opening the old-fashioned, tied up box. Why had Harry sent this to his son instead of directly to her? The question was soon answered, however, by a white, crisp sheet of paper written on with what seemed to be fresh ink. She recognized the handwriting instantly.

_Dear Professor McGonagall,_

_ Hopefully when you read this, Dumbledore will have already told you everything you're supposed to do and how. I wish I could help, but we are hot on the trail of one of the few Death Eaters left, and Ron could use all the help he can get. I wish you the best of luck and my trust; I know the job can be done right, and I'm brought to tears everytime I think about the fact this mission is being done for the sole purpose of me, my friends, and my family. Thank you._

_ However, I have a few things you might want to know. The reason I gave this note to Al is because I happened to overhear that the Ministry is checking any and all mail that is being delivered to you, obviously regarding your high authority at Hogwarts. I could not let the Ministry find the illegal actions that lay in this box. I, obviously, haven't and won't tell anyone. I don't even know who you're sending back in time. Dumbledore must have charmed his letter inside the package so that it could be read only by you. I know that the Ministry could have probably been able to work its way around it, me included, but I decided that if Professor Dumbledore hadn't wanted me to read it, I wouldn't._

_ Lastly, I really don't know how I came across this box. It was sitting at my desk when I came into work this morning, with an anonymous letter (which I could tell was from Dumbledore) to send this to you. It explained the mission briefly, though did not go into the measures that must be taken to succeed. I once again give you my appreciation, gratitude, and assurance that everything should go smoothly._

_ Yours always,_

_Harry Potter_

McGonagall clutched the letter and smiled. Tears glistened in her eyes, and her usually tight face turned into a mother-like stare. She had taught him. He had been in her house, Gryffindor. He had faced death so many times, Harry should have been the one called immortal, not Voldemort. As Professor McGonagall let go of Harry's letter and placed it beside the now open package, she had no doubt in mind she was going to go through with the mission; if not for the thousands of people who died, for Harry.

Minerva turned her eyes to a yellow, crumpled looking sheet of paper with what looked like fading ink; from a distance, it looked the opposite of Harry's letter. It was still readable, however, though she thought that was partly due to her reading glasses.

_To my dear Minerva,_

_ If you are reading this, then I know I have already told you everything you are expected to do. The two girls that will be set back in time are from a small Muggle village called Tollingford. Their names are Julie Logan and Hailey Titington, and both are enrolled at Saint Paul's Academy in America. Unlike the tactic you performed with both Cedric and Nymphadora, as you should remember from our conversation, you are making it look as though they are transferring from the Salem Witches' Institute. This will help make the magic involved in this project a little less difficult; however, I need to tell you why they must take a growth Potion._

_ By the age of sixteen, James, Sirius, Remus and Peter should have already done many things that would guide them to become the people they (should) grow up to be. The arrival of these two students should not change their personalities completely, as it could possibly have done if we had sent the girls back to when the boys were younger, and still developing into the people they were meant to be. At sixteen, there is still a chance for a bond to form that could last, but not enough time to completely morph their personalities and long-term friendships. I want Hailey and Julie to form a bond with these four boys, because obviously, a mission as complicated as this cannot be done without the help of friends. Peter, Remus, Sirius, and James all had a huge impact on Lord Voldemort and the way Harry finished him off. I find it adequate that we keep them involved in this._

_ As to why I am picking Hailey Titington and Julie Logan? They fulfill everything I was looking for, and even more. You may not understand. Just ensure that both girls remember each other, with false memories of friendly times. Julie is to go live with the Clywalker's, and Hailey is to live with the Fray's. But you know, Minerva, I have made mistakes many a time before, and do not believe this plan will go perfectly. I do believe, though, that the third's time the charm, as Muggles say._

_ I have all of my faith put in you; this will be an almost effortless task for you, as it was both times before. I am here for you always, even if I'm currently sleeping in a portrait that must have been wisely crammed in what must now be your office._

_Your friend,_

_Albus Dumbledore_

Minerva gave a small smile and turned the paper around. It gave the addresses of both girls and contained some other information that was crucial to thoroughly complete her part of launching the mission. Minerva decided that she would pick them up the following morning, a Saturday. In the meantime, she'd have to brew up a Potion, freshen herself on Memory Charms, and face the fact that in twenty-four hours, she wouldn't even remember having to prepare for anything, but think she had been piled with paperwork.

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_A/N: I hope you enjoyed that! To get the full taste of the chapter, I suggest listening to "Here Comes the Sun" by the Beatles, as I feel that's sort of how McGonagall feels (in a sense). You see, I'm also uploading this story on Wattpad, and there you can attach videos. I thought I'd take advantage of the opportunity and give readers a different way to connect to the story and what all happens within it. Therefore, with each chapter, I will attach/suggest a song to listen to. You in no way HAVE to, I just know that some people connect with music more than anything, and I want to give those people a way to feel attached to the story. (The story on Wattpad is under the same username, LetMagicGuidetheWay). I'd LOVELOVELOVE reviews, but you don't have to. It would inspire me, however, and I'd love to see your opinion on things. If you'd like to get in touch with me, I'd suggest going to my profile and scrolling towards the bottom where I put a couple of my accounts. Chapter Two should be uploaded next Saturday. Until then, have fun causing mischief! -Kayla _

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	2. Two Lives

**CHAPTER TWO: TWO LIVES**

_A/N: Thank you to everyone that has reviewed this story so far! Also, a huge thanks to anyone who has favorited the story or put in on alert…it honestly means the world! And to those reading without really being noticed…thanks to you as well, because you're taking time out of your day to read this, and that means a lot to me, whether I ever hear from you or not. I hope I don't disappoint! This story is a weird and unique twist on the successful Harry Potter series, and I hope people find it as intoxicating and worth reading as I do. Then again, I may be just a tad bit biased. I really hope you enjoy, as I'm working really hard. Updates will usually not be this quick, but I will try my best to keep them around a week apart at the most, and the chapters' lengths only get longer as the story progresses; however, I'll make sure that I don't think of quantity over quality, as I know that's what a reader looks for. And yes, Hailey and Julie are my own characters, so please don't use them without my permission. Sit back and enjoy…I hope you like it!_

**I DON'T OWN HARRY POTTER, I JUST LOVE THE MARAUDERS. I THINK WE'VE GONE OVER THIS.**

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A loud thud reverberated off the wide windows in the front of a small house. Hailey Titington was promptly awakened from her restless slumber, and sat up in her sleeping bag while groggily looking around the room for a clock. _9:43__ A.M._ was emboldened in green right under her friend's flat screen TV. Hailey then turned to the sleeping bag a few feet away from her.

Julie Logan was still sleeping, apparently unaware of the thunderstorm pounding against her living room windows. Julie's mouth was slightly open, her hair rumpled and tangled. Soon after Hailey glanced at her friend, a deafening thunder almost shook the house out of place. Julie woke up with a start.

"Wha – what happened?" asked Julie, her voice a bit airy from having just woken up. She reached for the glasses lying beside her on the floor.

Hailey yawned. "Storm," she said.

Julie sat up and turned towards the windows. Lightning struck with a blinding glow. "Great," Julie mumbled sarcastically.

They both sat in silence for a moment, trying to fully awaken themselves to reality before they got out of their sleeping bags. After a few moments of staring straight ahead into space, the best friends stood up. Hailey yawned again and rubbed her eyes. Julie's glasses ended up lopsided on her pale, freckled face, but she didn't notice or care. She would be putting on her contacts soon anyways.

They walked into the kitchen and turned on the lights. No one was awake yet. This was rather peculiar, as Julie's mother would usually be up at the crack of dawn, fixing breakfast for everyone and planning the rest of their day. Julie merely tossed the thought aside, as it didn't seem near important enough to worry about; it was a Saturday, so maybe her mother had decided to give herself an extra few, well-deserved hours of sleep.

"Are you hungry?" asked Julie as she opened the door to her refrigerator.

Hailey was still rubbing her eyes. "What? Oh – oh yeah, I guess. Just get me a few pieces of bacon, will ya Julie?"

Julie obliged, taking the box of bacon and setting it on the counter. Julie turned and faced her obviously troubled friend, and, whilst leaning against the counter, crossed her arms.

"Are you alright?" Julie asked, a hint of worry easily layering out her hazel eyes.

Hailey slowly stopped circling the lid of her eyes with her palm and looked up. Hailey's ocean blue orbs were surrounded by devil red splotches on her skin.

"Oh, I'm fine," Hailey reassured. "Just...I don't know," she faltered. After seeing a worried look dawn across her friend's face, Hailey hastily added, "It's nothing bad, Julie. At worst it's a headache or something. You know me, I always have some kind of pain or injury." Hailey laughed kindheartedly.

Julie laughed with her while reaching for two paper plates stacked beside her microwave. "But headaches usually don't make your eyes red."

Hailey rolled her dark blue eyes, accidentally causing them to sting. She brought her left hand over her eyes and held out her right.

"Could you get me a wet rag or paper towel...something?" asked Hailey, a tinge of pain in her voice.

Julie, who had gone to put the box of bacon back in the refrigerator after putting an equal amount of bacon on both plates, simply threw the box inside, closed the door, and after soaking a paper towel, handed it to Hailey.

"Feel any better?"

Hailey nodded. "A little better, yeah. Thanks."

"No problem," said Julie with a feeble smile as she put one of the plates in the microwave. Something was obviously bothering her, as Hailey could almost feel her best friend's mind buzzing. "Has this ever happened to you before?"

Hailey looked at Julie with a puzzled expression. "What – this?" Julie nodded. "Oh – no, I can't remember this ever happening before. Why?"

Julie shrugged as the microwave beeped. She took the plate out and switched it with the cold one. "I don't know. You mean your eye's never been irritated before?"

"Of course it has." Hailey flipped the paper towel to its opposite side and pressed it against her other eye. "But this feels different."

The microwave beeped and Julie took out its contents. "How?" Julie took one plate in each of her hands and headed towards the small table near the corner of her small, yet useful, kitchen.

Hailey followed Julie to the table and replied, "It feels as though this is the result of something. Kind of like a hangover, if you know what I mean. I just don't think this just randomly started for no specific reason."

Julie nodded as she put the plates down in front of the two chairs and took a seat. "But what could it be a result of?"

Hailey sat down. She pressed down much harder on the paper towel on top of her eye, obviously trying to see if it could stay in place while she ate. "I don't know. Did you punch me while I slept?" she asked playfully.

"Do I look like I have the strength or guts to punch anyone?" Julie laughed.

They ate in near silence, though it bothered neither of them. They had been friends for so long that silence was not an unusual thing. They almost simultaneously got up to throw their plates away. The trash can was right across from the back door. After both their plates had been dispersed in the can, they attempted to turn to walk back to the table, but a loud, surprising cackle of thunder shocked them dead in their tracks. Soon after, Julie and Hailey looked through the window right beside the door just in time to see lightning strike again, partnered with a soft popping noise.

Hailey and Julie stopped dead in their tracks and screamed the highest, loudest, most fear-induced shriek that had ever escaped either of their mouths. They both stared wide-eyed at the window, clutching each other's shoulders for support. Hailey's paper towel had fallen off her face and onto the floor, but neither of them noticed. All they seemed able to see was the old woman who had appeared out of nowhere outside the window, automatically flicking an inanimate object towards them. The woman looked at Hailey and Julie sternly, and then disappeared from their view of the window.

For a moment, both Hailey and Julie thought she had left; both of their hearts stopped beating at an alarmingly fast rate and their breathing soon evened out. A few seconds later however, they both heard a rapt knocking on the door.

Hailey let go of Julie's shoulder and looked at her anxiously.

"Why haven't my parents woken up from us screaming? Shouldn't they be worried?" asked Julie as their eyes met.

Hailey hadn't thought about it until then, but Julie was right. They were standing in a one-story house and if two teenage girls' high-pitched screaming didn't wake up two anxious parents, what would?

Julie slowly took her hand off Hailey's shoulder and started approaching the door.

Hailey felt her mouth fall open. "No! Julie, what the hell do you think you're doing!"

Julie turned around. She tried to pass off an exasperated look, though it could easily be penetrated through to reveal fear and worry.

"She couldn't have done anything to my parents," persuaded Julie, though she was mostly trying to convince herself. "But I think she might have done something to us." Julie took a few steps closer to the door before being stopped again.

"Julie," Hailey urged as she stepped closer towards her friend, "If you're going to answer the door, first answer one question."

"What?" Julie snapped. She was getting more and more terrified every second that she postponed opening the door, which was going to happen whether or not she and Hailey liked it. The woman knocked once more, harder, quicker, and louder than before.

"What did she hold up to us?" asked Hailey.

"I don't know, a stick?" replied Julie quickly.

"You know it wasn't a stick. Was it a gun?"

"No. What makes you think I know what it was?"

"Because as soon as she held it up, you looked like you understood something."

Julie paused, looking as though she was racking her brains for an explanation, then breathed out heavily. "You wouldn't believe me. It's crazy, anyways."

And with that, Julie, her hand sweating and shaking slightly, opened the door.

The old woman stood there, her hair completely dry despite the storm. Julie noticed she wasn't carrying an umbrella and also lacked the assistance of a rain jacket or hood. In fact, her long cloak and wispy white hair clinging against her wrinkled skin made it look as though she had come from a sunny autumn day. It was a demoralizing sight.

"Julie Logan and Hailey Titington?" the old woman asked. She was reading from a crumpled-up yellow sheet of paper in her right hand, and her left was coming out from the inside of her cloak.

"Who're you?" asked Hailey bracingly. She was scared out of her wits, but didn't dare let it show. Julie's already pale skin had turned even whiter, making her freckles stand out more than they usually did.

The woman smiled, though it looked rather forced, and the kindness was not reciprocated through her gray, aged eyes. She stepped inside the open door. Julie closed it, her arms still shaking from the abnormity of the situation. Julie was taking as few breaths as possible and, with the addition of her pale white skin, looked as though she was about to puke. She passed the old woman to stand by Hailey, who looked both vulnerable and defiant simultaneously; it was the sort of look that only Hailey Titington could pull off.

Hailey hadn't left her place. She was standing straight and strong, knowing that Julie wouldn't take control of the situation if it got bad. _Why aren't her parents getting up? Why can't they hear this?_ thought Hailey. Hailey was aware that both she and Julie were still in their pajamas, hair and teeth not brushed. There was something about the woman, however, that seemed extremely familiar.

"I am Minerva McGonagall, Headmistress of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."

Julie's mouth hung open, her pale face suddenly turning a dark red. Julie knew then and there that this was a dream, and that she would wake up at any moment...but she didn't.

Hailey had dug out of her thoughts to let out a snort. "Yeah, and I'm Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz. Pleasure to meet you."

Julie opened her mouth to form an apology for her friend's snarky remark, but Professor McGonagall held her spare hand out in protest. "Don't worry, child. It was only natural for one of you not to believe me...after all, this was a rather sudden visit." McGonagall's eyes ventured toward Hailey, and then flickered back to Julie. "And you would be...?"

"Julie," she said softly. "You – you exist?"

Professor McGonagall chuckled, though to Julie and Hailey, it sounded more like an old machine dying, its engines wheezing and croaking for the last time. "Yes, Julie, I must confirm that I do, in fact, exist. Even if I am only the remains of a once lively and completely sane witch."

"Hold up," Hailey said a bit rudely, but was only natural for someone with her outgoing attitude. "You believe her?"

Julie nodded. "It was a wand," she said, answering the question that she had somewhat avoided from earlier.

Professor McGonagall tucked her left hand in her cloak, her right still holding the rumpled up piece of paper. "Oh, you mean this?" McGonagall held out her wand, her heart lifting at their young eyes widening and, in Julie's case, a smile pulling at the corners of her mouth.

Hailey was starting to believe the Headmistress. "But – but why did you lift your wand up when you—"

"_Muffliato_," Julie muttered. She had caught both Professor McGonagall's and Hailey's attention. Julie blushed. "Sorry, I just thought—"

"—You're a smart young witch," Professor McGonagall said in an almost proud tone. "I see you've read the books."

"Read them? Hmph," Hailey huffed. "More like read, re-read, lived and breathed the books." Hailey was still a bit caught off guard however, and the fact that it was still raining and that no one had come to the kitchen was making her a bit uneasy. Hailey didn't know what to think of this woman, but she couldn't look too terrified or surprised; after all, it could have been just a dream.

McGonagall laughed a hard, wheezy laugh while Julie blushed a little darker, though beaming after hearing the word 'witch' be used to describe her. "You were correct."

Julie, who was star-struck, excited, bewildered and completely terrified all at the same time, had no idea what to do except simply respond to what the old woman was saying. Julie's face lightened at McGonagall's most recent words. "Really! Well, it didn't take too much logic, because I knew Hailey and I hadn't screamed until after you had lifted your wand. So—"

"—wait, what?" Hailey asked, her face rumpled, confused.

"The spell, Hailey – the reason she lifted her wand – was because she didn't want my parents to hear our conversation. So she casted _Muffliato_!"

Hailey squinted at Julie. "What's that?" When she saw Julie's immediate, _Are you serious! _reaction, Hailey replied, "Julie, you _know _I haven't read the books, don't expect me to have memorized every spell known ever recorded."

Julie sighed impatiently and looked astonished. "_Muffliato_? Are you sure you don't know it?" Julie then turned to Professor McGonagall and added, "She's always been more of a Twi-Hard."

Professor McGonagall, tired of the useless bickering, decided it was time to step in the conversation. "_Muffliato_, Ms. Titington, is a spell that makes anyone around you unable to hear whatever conversation is taking place. For example, after lifting my wand, both you and Ms. Logan screamed, yet did not wake up either of her parents." At this, both Julie and Hailey shifted apologetically. Professor McGonagall continued, however. "You two have been chosen for a mission…that is the reason I'm here. Professor Dumbledore and I both agreed that you two are the only people eligible for this title. This mission gives countless lives a second chance, and years of terror could be vanished...if you succeed."

Hailey's mouth was slightly open, looking paler than normal, though still tan compared to Julie's normal color. Hailey's oceanic eyes were somewhat enlarged, her ears begging for more, and her mind giving up on any thought process all together.

Julie's skin, which had almost turned back to its original color, was now emitting a grayish glow. Her green eyes with very few, extremely tiny drops of brown enlarged to the size of a golf balls. Julie's light freckles even seemed to vanish, leaving her to look like an extremely discombobulated ghost.

"I think it would be better, and make a lot more sense, to have this conversation in my office. It's a good thing you both happened to be at the same house."

"Professor McGonagall?" Hailey asked, her voice sounding a bit uneasy.

"Mhm?" she replied, putting both her wand and the piece of yellow paper back inside her robes.

While they had temporarily escaped the Headmistress' sharp gaze, Hailey and Julie both glanced at each other out of the corner of their eyes, silently saying, _Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God_…

"How exactly do we get to your office?" Hailey asked confusingly as the Headmistress sharply turned back to them. "It's freezing and rain—"

Julie felt like exhaling and throwing her arms out in front of her to show Hailey how completely obvious the answer to her question was, but didn't. Everything was happening too quick, too soon, too fast, too..._now_.

McGonagall sighed. "We are going to Apparate," she said, but at seeing Hailey's facial expression still seem confused, continued, "which is to transport from one place to another by magic."

"Oh, I've seen that in the movies!" exclaimed Hailey. Then her smile turned into a frown. "Wait, so...this is...real?" Hailey seemed to still be thinking the same thing Julie was: _Is this really happening?_

"Yes, Ms. Titington, I am real, you are real, Julie is real – _magic_ is real."

Julie, obviously having taken a blow after the announcement of a 'mission', inquired feebly, "But what about our – er – appearance?"

Professor McGonagall, who had been fastening up her cloak, looked up at the two fourteen-year-olds. "Oh, I'm sorry." She got out her wand and pointed it at Hailey, mumbled incomprehensible words, and suddenly Hailey's hair was brushed and was wearing a teal blue cloak.

Hailey looked down at her new clothes. "Awesome!" was all she could manage to say.

The Headmistress smiled and flicked her wand in Julie's direction. Julie looked down to find herself wearing a dark violet cloak.

"Thanks," Julie said in a whisper.

The words, _"Magic _is real," were still clinging in the air as though oxygen itself depended upon it.

Professor McGonagall stored her wand in one of her pockets and held out both of her arms. "If you please."

Julie walked over, staggering a bit, and grabbed McGonagall's right arm. Hailey's eyebrows furrowed. "Uhm...Julie?"

"To Apparate, you must have passed the test in your sixth year. Since neither of you know how, you will have to do Side-Along Apparition with me. But it is very dangerous to do it with more than one person, so how about I bring Julie here first, and then come back for you?" McGonagall offered. Hailey nodded her agreement.

The old woman turned, Julie clutching her arm with a bit of resistance, not favoring falling off but not wanting to hurt the Professor. With a pop, they disappeared as though nothing was ever there. Hailey blinked. After fully digesting what had happened, Hailey let out a squeak of terror, as 'Apparating' had looked rather odd and somewhat painful.

After turning on her heel with McGonagall, Julie had suddenly felt as though all of her skin was being pushed into her bones, her face was shrinking, and her brain was about to rattle out of her ears. These feelings did not last long, however, for within seconds Julie was in a totally different setting.

Julie's feet were shaking as though being vibrated, and as she felt the cold ground form beneath her shoes, she stumbled and tripped. Falling on her knees, she noticed Professor McGonagall smiling down at her. "The first time is never the best. Let me go catch your friend, and we'll head up to my office." McGonagall made a move to Apparate, and then looked back down at Julie, who was blinking repeatedly and slowly coming to terms with what had just happened. "Not that I expect this to be a problem, but please don't venture anywhere," McGonagall suggested while a flash of kindness waved in her eyes. And with a swish of her cloak and another pop, she was gone.

Julie slowly got up from the ground. She felt dizzy and a little queasy. She staggered and felt her back brush against something cold and hard. Julie hadn't even looked around, which was very unlike her usual reflex when brought to a place she had never been before.

Julie, her vision now back to normal, looked around the area. The grass was plentiful and spread as far as Julie's eyes could see; it was dry and bright green, and it surrounded a brown, muddy pathway on which Julie now stood. She turned around. The hard substance that she had been leaning against was actually a huge iron gate. Julie gasped as she realized with a jolt that she was standing outside of Hogwarts. She had always dreamed of this happening, but never did she truly believe it could ever occur. Her brain was now sending sparks of shock all throughout her body, and she felt completely and utterly in awe. After a few moments of staring up at the castle incredulously, Julie closed her eyes, pinched her arm, and expected to open her eyes in a sleeping bag on her living room floor in the middle of a storm. Julie hesitated opening her eyes; she had been so happy, even if she had also been scared out of her wits. Julie heard an eerie snap come out of nowhere. Julie felt her heart drop to her legs when the realization hit her: she must have been right in thinking that it had only been a dream. Julie miserably opened her eyes, only to find Hailey gagging on the muddy ground, looking just as dizzy as Julie had felt moments before. Julie smiled in spite of seeing her best friend kneeling on the ground. Sometimes it's the most far-fetched of dreams that end up a reality.

Hailey looked up at Julie, slightly panting, bending over as if exhausted. "So I see you enjoy seeing me seethe in pain?"

McGonagall was looking stern, standing straight and tall a few feet away from Hailey. "I don't want any funny business. Students in their third year and onward should be in Hogsmeade, which almost eliminates any chance of something significant happening. I don't want to cause a scene, so if anyone tries to talk to you two, don't respond. Do you understand me?" Julie nodded, showing an air of someone who had given up on trying to change or do anything for themselves, completely dependent upon others' instruction. The future would happen anyways, but obviously in a way neither Julie nor Hailey had expected.

"Sure..." Hailey puffed. Julie had the distinct impression that Hailey had not enjoyed her first time Apparating.

McGonagall walked towards the gate and took out her wand. After pointing it at the lock, she started to murmur incomprehensible phrases. After McGonagall had finished, Julie spoke up.

"Professor, this is just a wild guess, but _Alohomora_ alone doesn't unlock the gate, does it?" Julie asked shyly. She wasn't trying to sound like a know-it-all; on the contrary, she was curious and interested in anything that had to do with Hogwarts and magic.

Professor McGonagall smiled. "Yes, you are correct – yet again," she said wearily. She looked at Julie. "How many spells do you already know?"

Julie blushed lightly. "Oh, not many...I just remember some."

Hailey scoffed. "Some..."

McGonagall shook her head away from the bickering girls and turned to open the gate. It gave a loud squeak but opened nice and quick. "After you, ladies."

Hailey still looked a bit green and Julie still had wide eyes. Was all this _really_ happening? Apparently it was. They walked across the grounds in silence until Hailey broke it with a loud, somewhat frightened voice.

"I don't understand. A mission? For _us_? Not trying to be rude, miss, but you've got to be pretty out of your mind to consider us worthy of a mission that could save lives. Heck, we aren't even warlocks or witches or whatever you call your people around here. We don't go to this school, we don't have any powers. We're just boring, ordinary, everyday people with normal lives. Why would you choose _us_?"

Julie wanted to slap and agree with Hailey at the same time. She did both by 'accidently' bumping into Hailey as they made their way across the grounds, nearing the stairs that led to the huge, oak doors.

"Hailey's kind of right, Professor. Not to sound rude...but why us?"

Professor McGonagall stayed silent, contemplating in her mind how she was going to tell them the depths of the mission when they reached her office. _'So girls, you've been chosen to do a deathly mission that involves wiping your brain of all memory of your life, putting other lives and your own on the line, having patches of blank memory where all you can remember is what I've planted in you, oh, and if you ever somehow figure out all these details and tell anyone, you will be forced back in this time period as if you never had the courage or bravery to accept this meeting in the first place,'_ was not exactly what you'd call a warm invitation.

As they walked up the stone steps of Hogwarts, Hailey could feel Julie beside her, shaking.

Hailey mouthed, "You okay?" only to get a sharp, anxious nod in return.

Hailey and Julie walked through the doors, and both their mouths fell open in wonder. The fact that this was actually happening kept pounding their thoughts and caused their hearts to beat abnormally fast.

The Grand Hall was enormous, tall and glamorous, and not to mention extremely inviting. The walls were filled with dark brown, wooden doors and portraits of silly witches and wizards in odd places and scenes. As they were about to round a corner, McGonagall held her hand out, halting Hailey and Julie, both of whom had been lost in a daze.

"Potter!" she exclaimed as she looked around anxiously. No one was there.

Hailey murmured to Julie, "I truly think she's gone nuts, first not answering our questions, and now talking to no one! I think she has the wrong—"

But whatever Hailey thought McGonagall had wrong Julie never knew, because suddenly, yet slowly, a boy that looked slightly younger than Hailey and Julie appeared out of thin air.

Hailey and Julie, by then completely astonished by all the unreal and miraculous events that had occurred, both stopped even breathing for a moment and stared at the boy. What more was there to come?

He sighed. "How'd you know I was here?"

McGonagall laughed. "You have no idea how many times I've seen your father and grandfather mysteriously disappear before my very eyes. Believe me, I can tell when a Potter walks through these halls under that cloak. You all have that same self-assured strut about you. It's rather obvious to an old woman like me."

The Potter boy stared incredulously at his Headmistress, and then finally noticed Hailey and Julie.

"Oh, I didn't know we had company."

Professor McGonagall suppressed something along the lines of a false chuckle. "That may be because they aren't your company." She suddenly looked extremely stern as she turned to stare at Hailey and Julie, silently attempting to remind them of the promise they had made outside.

The boy ignored his Headmistress' last few words. "Hi, I'm James." He shook his hair up and held out his hand. Julie noticed it was aimed more toward Hailey, so did not reach out her own hand.

"Hailey," she replied. The boy had dark brown murky hair that could easily be passed off as black, and had hazel eyes that twinkled in almost a mocking way. His voice seemed confident and so did his posture, and Hailey couldn't help but think he was pretty adorable. He seemed younger, however, so she couldn't help adding, "So how old are—"

"James, go on to Hogsmeade before I catch you in any trouble," McGonagall cut quickly, glaring at Hailey.

James looked disappointed and walked away, the cloak still in hand.

"Did I not specifically tell you not to talk to anyone?" At this the Headmistress turned on her heel and started up a flight of moving stairs a few feet ahead of where she stood. Hailey and Julie sprinted to catch up with the surprisingly fast old woman. Julie's chest started to ache, a result of being yelled at, even if the remark had been more toward her best friend.

"Really, Hailey? Flirting with a guy a year younger than you?" asked Julie, trying to look stern, though a hint of amusement was undeniably hidden in her voice.

Hailey shrugged. "Well, he was cute. I'm not going to just stand there stiff and still like you do every time a good-looking guy comes around."

Julie rolled her eyes, though blushed.

Hailey shrugged cockily while they slowed down and got off the wooden stairs, following Professor McGonagall's lead down another corridor. "Wait – how did you know that he was a year younger than me?"

Julie sighed. "James Potter, Harry's son," she replied. Julie had done quick math in her head while James talked to Hailey; Julie had known what year the epilogue had taken place.

Hailey uttered a gasp. "The Boy Who Lived's son flirted with me...I'm obviously just irresistible," she joked, and Julie laughed, despite the fact that Hailey had probably gotten them in trouble. This was one of the many reasons Julie and Hailey were friends; Hailey had the humor, and Julie had the self-control.

They kept conversing as they walked up another set of thin stairs, and were surprised when they looked down to find they were on what seemed to be the seventh floor. McGonagall rounded a corner with Hailey and Julie close after her, walked down a long, dimly lit hallway, and stopped as they reached a door surrounded by two statues.

"_The Order of the Phoenix_," McGonagall muttered to the door, and it swung open.

Hailey and Julie walked through the door after McGonagall only to find more stairs. "Is this the only type of transportation here? Stairs?" Hailey whispered skeptically to her friend.

They came to the top of the twirling steps. Professor McGonagall held a door open for them. Julie walked through the door curiously, though kept looking back at Professor McGonagall worryingly, scared that she had walked too far in or was looking at things she wasn't supposed to look at. It was a large oval room, with many book and file cabinets piling the opposite side of the room. There were two extremely tall windows that stood right behind a long, wooden desk, and portraits were scattered throughout the whole space. Hailey simply walked around the whole perimeter of the room, jumping slightly at the site of Headmasters and Headmistress' moving portraits, and decided it necessary to touch anything that interested her.

Professor McGonagall shut the door behind her and sat down in her chair behind her desk. "Please, take a seat." Where there was usually only one seat in front of her desk, there were two. Hailey and Julie silently took them, suddenly reminded of the mission..._their_ mission.

The Headmistress sighed, obviously trying to find the right words. "I might as well just explain this to you in the quickest, yet most thorough way possible."

There were no questions from Julie or snide remarks from Hailey.

McGonagall continued, "As you both should, to some extent, know, Lord Voldemort was killed many years ago by the boy you recognize as Harry Potter. Years of terror were finally over, the Ministry became stable once more, and the Wizarding world was once again a peaceful community of witches and wizards carrying on normal lives," informed McGonagall, then added, "Well, normal to us." She let out a quick, unconvincing smile. "But, before Harry rose to the position to kill Voldemort, he lost many loved ones."

Hailey loosened from her stiff position in her seat, though still looked kind of hard-faced. "You mean his godfather and parents?"

McGonagall nodded sadly. "Yes, you are correct. Others too, though…many friends and parental figures. Have you read the books too?" she asked, though strongly doubted she'd receive a positive reply.

Hailey shook her head. "I've only watched the movies. I forget some of the details, though."

McGonagall was somewhat surprised that Hailey could be serious when she wanted to. Professor McGonagall had to admit that, upon first sight, Hailey and Julie hadn't looked like two to be fit for a mission…at all.

"Not just his parents and godfather, but father-figures like Dumbledore and Professor Lupin, and almost Mr. Weasley," Julie added in what could be described as a loud whisper. "He lost friends like Fred, Tonks, Dobby, Hedwig and Collin." Hailey looked puzzled at the mention of some names but said nothing.

"Right," McGonagall stated. "There were many more deaths, though, that were instigated by Lord Voldemort and his Death Eaters...countless innocent lives were lost, both adults and children alike."

Hailey finally burst from silently waiting for a true explanation as to why she was there. "But Professor, if none of our own people were even killed, why should we be wrapped up in all of this? As much as I hate that all of those people died, what are we supposed to do about it? We don't even have powers! Plus it's already said and done! What are we supposed to do, go back in time!"

Without even exchanging looks or saying anything at all, they all knew that Hailey had found the truth underlying their conversation. Julie's eyes widened. She talked in a voice most unlike herself.

"Headmistress! We – we can't go – back in...who are we? You said earlier I was a witch...is – is that true?"

McGonagall sighed. "After the Wizarding World was exposed to Muggles, protection has come up full force. We created a replica in America of our world to stop people from trying to find this, the real Hogwarts. The good thing is, however, that most of the people that actually believe we exist are children. Children are, luckily, very untrustworthy to Muggle parents."

Julie nodded. Hailey ran her hands through her hair. At this gesture, McGonagall realized how little she had really noticed about the two.

Julie had long, light brown hair with tints of auburn and blonde. She had pale skin with some light freckles; it didn't totally cover her body, but mainly her arms. She had big greenish-hazel eyes and a small nose. She was tall and skinny, and combined with her sensitive and shy demeanor gave off an awkward presence.

Hailey had light-brown, straight hair that looked much thinner than Julie's thick locks. She was skinny with much tanner skin than Julie. Hailey had dark blue eyes that reminded Professor McGonagall of the ocean's blue waters swirling up against a sandy white coast. She seemed like someone with a boisterous, hysterical personality, while Julie seemed much more mysterious and shy.

McGonagall sighed. "Hailey was correct. Your mission is to go back in time to when Harry Potter's parents went to school, befriend them, and destroy the Horcruxes that Lord Voldemort had already created by that time. I will ensure you know how many there are, where to find them, how to get them, why you must get them, and the order in which you should destroy them."

Julie had once more gone white. "P – professor, how are we supposed to do all of this? Simply giving us instructions isn't enough. We need training! Harry had plenty of time, experience, and knowledge to defeat Voldemort. We – we'll only have a fake memory and that's it!"

McGonagall looked surprised. "And why do you believe it would be fake?"

"It's fairly obvious that this is illegal magic, considering not many people are allowed to go back in time," remarked Julie. "I highly doubt that you'd send us back with the ability to fully recount our true lives. It's also obvious that you're the only Professor that knows about this, as that Potion on your desk looks rushed and you scribbled charms on that piece of paper." Julie gestured to the same crumpled piece of paper McGonagall had read their names off of in her kitchen. "If you wouldn't tell your own fellow colleagues, why should we think that the mission we're being forced to go on is simple?"

McGonagall looked astonished. "Why would you think – I may have had no help – but that doesn't mean—"

"So you mean to tell me that if we were to call Professor Longbottom in here—"

"Alright, alright – just don't interrupt me," Professor McGonagall said, cutting off Julie, who was starting to become extremely anxious and angry. "For this mission, yes Julie, you will have to have your minds erased of everything you remember and know about your lives up to now. You will live with two families, both of which had no children originally. They get children, you get guardians and parents: it's a good deal for all, right?" There was silence. McGonagall sighed. "The mission requires you to befriend James Potter—"

"Wait," Hailey frowned, "didn't we just meet James Potter?"

The Headmistress looked as though she was x-raying Hailey. "You met James Sirius Potter, Harry Potter's son that he named after his father and godfather. James Albert Potter—"

"Heh, Albert," joked Hailey.

"—is Harry's father, and if you hadn't interrupted me, Ms. Titington, you would also know that not only should you befriend him, but also his friends, Sirius Black—"

"—by 'befriend them' do you mean that we—" started Julie.

"Do you two want to know your mission or not!" exclaimed McGonagall.

Julie muttered an apology and Hailey just rolled her eyes, then afterwards wished she hadn't. In the midst of all that had happened, she had totally forgotten that her eyes were stinging.

"Let me try and clear up everything first. I think both of you – Hailey especially – don't understand what the conditions and risks are. I'm going to talk quick, _without interruption_, and then afterwards I will listen to both of you and answer any of your questions or concerns. Do you understand me?"

There was another patch of anxious silence. "Lord Voldemort tortured Muggles, Hailey, so the Dark Lord's reign did affect 'your kind'...but in all reality, neither of you are Muggles. You are both witches."

Julie smiled widely, revealing braces. Soon after, Hailey smiled too, revealing some as well. _More magic for me_, mumbled McGonagall in her head.

"The whole purpose of this mission is to save the lives of those who didn't need to die: those who died fighting, being brave, and standing strong. So many families were torn apart, innocent hearts were broken, and happy days could become nightmares within a second's notice. The Ministry was falling, and after Voldemort had risen again, even Hogwarts wasn't a safe place to be. Almost all of this could have been avoided if we could have just caught on to what Voldemort was doing before he got too powerful or strong. This is where you come in, ladies. Your mission is to go back in time and fight harder and quicker than Tom Riddle could have ever expected. I know that you both are probably curious as to why we are sending you back to the Marauders' era," McGonagall predicted, then after seeing Hailey's brows furrow, added, "which is the time Harry Potter's parents went to school. The Marauders were James Potter's little gang, consisting of himself, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew."

Julie seemed to understand everything so far. She was almost smiling at the mention of the Marauders, the color was sneaking back to her face, and she seemed to want McGonagall to keep giving information. Though, in the pit of her stomach, Julie felt worry, despair, and she felt her heart about three stories lower than its usual placement. Julie tried to ignore the voice in her head shouting, _You can't leave your parents! _

Hailey, on the other hand, seemed to be confused. She didn't want to look dumb; she understood everything McGonagall had said so far! But it was what McGonagall hadn't said, what she hadn't noted, and the questions that were left unanswered that left Hailey questioning the sanity of the so-called 'mission'.

"I think when planning this mission, the creator wanted it to not look suspicious – after all, it would look kind of strange if innocent teenagers killed Tom Riddle for no purpose or reason. That's why you're being sent back to around the time he was starting to _gain _power. If not, a sudden murder would cause headlines, gather up supporters against our side...that's exactly what we don't want happening. I also think that the creator of this mission wanted some of the people that were originally involved in the final extermination of Voldemort to be involved in this, as well. Obviously, James Potter gave up his life for Harry, Remus Lupin risked his life by living with werewolves for a mission by the Order, Sirius Black ended up spending years in Azkaban, and Peter...Peter helped Voldemort die by not working to the best of his abilities as an assistant. No matter what he did to his friends, I think Peter was intent on being a follower, doing what others told him to do, and not living how he personally wanted to. That was Peter's weakness, and he barely helped Voldemort – after he was risen again – gain any excess power."

McGonagall's eyes started to jump around her office, trying to avoid the innocent stares of the young girls. "Julie was right. Your minds will have to be erased, and the memory and reminder of the Horcruxes will be planted in your brains. It's very complicated magic and it's hard to put into words…" McGonagall stared off into space, deep in thought. "Basically, I will first have to wipe your brains of almost everything. I will then implant fake memories in your brains of your new lives…and don't worry; you will both still be friends. Your families' brains of this time period are washed of your existence. So is all of your close friends, schools, and anyone you may have come into contact with. I did all of those spells and charms last night and this morning. Now, all that is left is for me to explain is how you will go to Hogwarts and why.

"The families that you're staying with are both just 'family friends', as your new families are in a special Army, and don't have any time or space for you. Both of the family's you've lived with previously will have been magical. You will be transferring to Hogwarts from the Salem Witches' Institute in America, as your blood-relative families like to stay close to you, and have been stationed in England. Accepting transfers is very rare for Hogwarts to do, so you will both be welcomed with many odd looks and questions. Don't worry, though...you both seem like you'd fit in here.

"Now, any questions? concerns?"

"Why us?" Hailey asked for what seemed to be the millionth time.

McGonagall brushed a stray strand of wiry hair out of her eyes. "I don't know, Hailey. There is a reason, I'm sure, as to why he picked you—"

"—Dumbledore made this plan, didn't he?" Julie questioned.

McGonagall's eyes widened. "I – he didn't – you are very clever, you know that?"

Julie shrugged. "I'm no Hermione, but since you implied that no Professor that worked here currently knew of the plan, and you just said a 'he' made up the plan, the first and only brilliant mind that came to my mind was P – prof – oh, hello..."

Julie's eyes found the painting hanging above the windows behind the Headmistress' desk. Dumbledore smiled wisely down at them, but said nothing.

"Our families...they don't know...they forgot...we don't – we don't have a family anymore!" Hailey said dubiously, some concern mounting in her somewhat frantic voice.

Professor McGonagall sighed. "Well, you don't have much choice as to whether or not you accept this mission. You were assigned it, which means you have to go on it. I guess you could back down, but it would cause a whole heap of trouble, and I don't think that either of you would be assigned the mission if there was any doubt that you would resign."

Julie shifted unpleasantly in her chair. "Hailey," she said to her friend, "I – I love my parents. I know that you love your family too. But if we go on this mission, we don't even remember anyone from here...and besides, weren't we just saying last night how boring our lives are? How if we don't do something soon, a hundred years of life could be wasted on us? Hailey, I know we're only two lives but...but sometimes, Hailey, two lives can make a huge difference. Sometimes just two lives can change a hundred. And maybe, just maybe, Hailey, a hundred years of life won't be wasted on us, because – because we actually made a difference. I—" Julie turned to McGonagall. "I accept this mission, miss," Julie said, her voice starting to break from the shear seriousness of it all. "I may have to give up all these people but – but I think the sacrifice I'm making is nothing compared to the sacrifices that those witches and wizards made in battle. They gave up their life, all we'll be giving up is a life we've hated to be replaced with a life full of adventure and meaning. Isn't that worth the risk?" Julie asked, about to start tearing up, but mostly aimed the last part towards her friend.

"Nicely spoken," beamed McGonagall. "And you, Ms. Titington?"

"I'm Hailey," she started, and then smiled. "I'm going with Julie. And for your information, I said all that stuff first last night."

Julie laughed shakily.

"Okay, well, there's plenty more I could say, but there's really no point considering you won't remember and have already accepted the mission anyways." McGonagall looked nervously at both of them. "You do know the dangers you face?"

They nodded.

"You know that this mission could give you an early death?"

Hailey and Julie nodded again, this time slower and nervously.

"Take this Growth Potion, then," invited McGonagall. She grabbed two empty glass bottles placed on her desk and dipped them into the bobbling cauldron one at a time. She handed both girls a bottle of the Potion.

"Growth Potion?" repeated Julie uneasily, gritting her teeth. She looked down fearfully at the contents in her bottle. Hailey simply grabbed her bottle and drained it after a moment's pause.

"You are being sent into your sixth year at Hogwarts, so you won't be too much older…only a couple of years," reassured Professor McGonagall as she pointed hastily towards Julie's cup.

Julie comprehended the message and reluctantly drank it.

Hailey felt her eyes water, her body extend and her hair grow. After the effects of the Potion were set in place, she looked a little older, an inch or so taller, and more like a woman than a girl.

Julie felt herself grow barely, hardly any additional weight being added, but her eyesight, which she had just noticed was still being helped by her clunky glasses, got even worse.

"Feel alright?" asked McGonagall nervously.

"We have braces," replied Hailey. "And my eyesight was never great, but now it's horrible."

"Same here," continued Julie, "except mine has always been terrible. Oh, and I'm _not_ wearing these glasses, no matter what you say. I usually wear contacts, but you sort of caught us off guard this morning."

Julie needn't say more. McGonagall swiped her wand across the air in front of them. Hailey felt her teeth get slimy and straight, and this sensation distracted her from her saved eyesight. Julie felt her teeth grow and turn in place, and her eyesight became clearer than it had since childhood; her glasses had magically disappeared. They opened their mouths to give their thanks, but McGonagall held her hand out in front of her.

"So, this is it. You are – er – about to forget everything. You can't talk, or else I may get distracted. Believe me, you do _not _want a Memory Charm to go wrong."

Julie and Hailey glanced at each other, tears forming quietly in their eyes as though, at those words, a knife had quietly stabbed them both in the heart. This was it. Why they were accepting this mission, why they were stupid enough to risk their lives, still hadn't formed completely in their minds. But they had agreed, and this was most definitely not a dream. That was the last complete thought that formed in their minds. _This is not a dream._

All felt empty. Actually, empty didn't describe it. Because empty means that there's something there, and that that something just happened to have nothing. There was_ nothing_. They saw nothing. They said nothing. Suddenly, a burst of color exploded somewhere, and it all felt like a brain freeze; there were so many thoughts, so many memories...it felt terrible. Then Hailey and Julie felt surrounded by darkness.

There was a small lap of silence as an office that had just held three now only held one. McGonagall turned to the portrait behind her desk after clearing the room of anything and everything.

"Let's hope I never have to do that again."

The wand emitted purple sparks, and McGonagall's eyes widened. She too had a quick headache, and then sat down at her desk.

The mission had begun.

ϟ

_A/N: Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed! Yes, this story DOES contain the Marauders, you're just going to have to be a little bit patient, as this is contains a lot of my original ideas and I'm having to explain them. I hope you enjoyed it none-the-less. In case you don't know, I'm also uploading this on Wattpad (under the same username, LetMagicGuidetheWay). So no, neither of us are imposters. With each chapter, I'd like to give you a song to help you connect with how a character feels, the message the chapter should send you, or the mood it should set you in. You don't have to listen to it, but I'd suggest listening to "Save the World (Tonight)" by Swedish House Mafia. Thanks for reading, and it'd be awesome if you reviewed! Much love! ~ Kayla_


	3. Chains of Love

_A/N: First off, just let me give my sincerest apologies for uploading this a day late. The doc manager was acting up and it took me over two hours to even get this uploaded so I could do my last read-through. By that time, however, it was almost two in the morning, and I just needed to rest. I then had to edit more than expected, as the only document it would let me upload here was one with hardly any corrections. I could go into more but I won't, but I just want you to know how deeply sorry I am. A day late isn't TOO bad, however, and I hope you understand. This chapter is long and I've worked hard on it, and it sort of sets the story in place. If you want to ask questions or keep up with me, just go to my profile page and I'll give you my twitter and tumblr. :) I hope you enjoy! I'll try and upload Chapter Four very, very, VERY soon. Thank you to everyone who has reviewed, favorited, or put the story on alert. I love you!_

_ϟ  
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**CHAPTER THREE: CHAINS OF LOVE**

Black became gray, gray became white, and white became color in the blink of an eye. Two girls stood on the old sidewalk of Elias Road, blinking rapidly, both their heads aching. They were alone, as there seemed to be no traffic near there. At first they were both silent, confused as to where they were, why they were there, and where to go next. Suddenly, as though they had both been knocked in the head with a hard, cold brain freeze, they remembered…or was it simply a stored thought? Sighing, the taller girl glanced at the shorter.

"Guess there really isn't that much to do around here, is there, Hailey?"

The shorter brunette shook her head in response while thoughts sunk back into her brain. _My parents are in the Army here, and want me to live with _another _wizarding family, _Hailey reminded herself, although why she needed to be reminded seemed slightly strange. "Well, that's that," said Hailey, both slightly agitated and confused.

"Might as well make our way back home," the taller, auburn-haired girl continued.

"Yeah, might as well," agreed Hailey, confused and still trying to get her mind and eyesight in focus. "Bye, Julie."

"Bye, Hailey. See you in the morning; don't forget, we get to go to Diagon Alley tomorrow!" Julie said excitedly as random thoughts had dispersed in her mind.

Hailey smiled at her friend before they turned their backs on one another as they went opposite directions. They had been standing at a corner, and as Julie rounded it and Hailey pivoted straight ahead, the street looked quite deserted.

ϟ

Julie walked halfway down that next block, Ocert Drive. She looked both ways before crossing the street, her long legs gleaming a pasty white as the sun hit what was under her knee-length jeans. As she got to the other side, she turned around once more and peered around, ensuring that no one was eavesdropping, and then focused once more on what was in front of her.

There was a large gate that criss-crossed in iron wires with sharp points around the top to stop Muggles from entering what looked like a deserted plain of yellow grass. To the few people that ever passed through this road, it looked utterly deficient to put a gate around what could be a park or nice picnic area.

"_Koma baile,_" whispered the tall, skinny girl as she put her thumbs through one of the squares in the fence. These words came naturally to her, as though she had known them all her life; yet, at the same time, the words seemed fresh and new. The iron edges around the square turned blue and shined, and suddenly the space of the square enlarged as the others disappeared, leaving an empty space big enough to walk through. She stepped into the large area of dead grass, and the minute her body became detached of the fence, it closed up once more, and the bright blue light faded until it had disappeared completely.

Julie tucked her light brown hair - that looked almost red in the sun - behind her ears, and her green eyes, that included ant-size droplets of brown, scanned the plain until she found a small circle of grass that flourished with a bright green color in the middle of the secluded park. She walked over to the circular patch of healthy grass, quickly twitched this way and that to take a last minute check on onlookers, and jumped as hard and high as she could onto the ground.

The force of her weight and jump must have started something, as the rich soil started to break itself apart from the dead, and Julie felt her body lowering itself. She then realized (_or was it a memory_?) that the plate of Earth on which she stood worked somewhat like a Muggle elevator: she was being transported down. When Julie's head was in level with the grass she had just passed, she looked up. The sky was a pale blue with extensive, feathery clouds whizzing its way through the small howls of wind. Then, she looked down.

Julie suddenly, with a lightening-like shock somewhere in the back of her head, remembered that she was entering her new home. The grass gently stopped moving down, and landed on a huge, table-like structure the exact length and width of the dirt that transported Julie underground.

"Hello, sweetheart," said a woman as she walked through a doorway and into Julie's view.

Julie smiled as she walked down the few steps laid out to transport her to the floor of her new living room. "Hello, Mrs. Clywalker," Julie replied shyly as she took a seat on a rich blue couch.

The room in which Julie was sitting was large and round, and the walls were made up of dark, thick, frozen dirt. There was a window near the back of the room that gleamed in sunlight even though they were underground. Once again, Julie felt an unpleasant jolt in the back of her head, and remembered that Mr. Clywalker worked for the Ministry of Magic, and that most of the windows at the magical Ministry were bewitched just like the ones here. The couch she sat on was a turquoise blue, and beside and across from it lay scarlet red armchairs. There was a fireplace in the middle of this arrangement, and a few feet in front of it, a coffee table full with _The Daily Prophet_'s and _The Quibbler_'s.

"For the last time, call me Matilda, child! The manners your family forced into you…" A tall, very skinny woman with deep, rich brown hair, and brown eyes that for some reason looked purple to Julie, walked over to the chair closest to her new house guest and glanced at the teenager, and rested her arm on the side of the blood-red armchair after sitting down. "Is everything alright?"

Julie looked up. She had been deep in thought, something that seemed to happen very frequently. "What? Oh – oh, yes I'm fine, thank you."

Matilda flicked her wand in mid-air and conjured up two glasses of a dark brown drink. "I hear this is a Muggle drink?" she asked as one flew itself gracefully into Julie's doubtful hands.

Julie sipped it and looked up. "Oh, um – yes, yes it is. One of my favorites, actually," she replied after gulping down two delicious sips of tea.

Matilda glanced up behind her glass and gulped. "I know you don't want to be here, Julie. No, I'm not accusing you of being unkind or ungrateful, either," Matilda admitted while seeing Julie's mouth start to form an argument, "But I don't think it's too much to ask of you to tell me this: is there anything, _anything_, I can do to make you feel more at home?" As Julie shook her head and attempted to smile, Matilda put her drink down on the coffee table and asked, "How many families have you lived with, Julie?" The woman almost seemed to pity her newest house guest.

She said it kindly, and she meant no harm, but Julie couldn't help but feel a rush of embarrassment and anger swell up in her stomach. She didn't like talking about her situation. It made her feel as though her parents didn't love her, but they _did_. They were just off in the Army, and Julie hadn't seen them for a total of three years until two weeks ago, when they arrived at the family Julie had been staying with at that time. The Farrow's had been lovely to her: they were an elderly couple, both in their mid-seventies, and Julie had grown so fond of them that she referred to them as "Grandma" and "Grandpa". But that was in America. That was when her parents knew someone with a magical heritage in the neighborhood. Mrs. Farrow was a Squib, and her husband a Half-Blood. Julie could stay there and still go to the Salem Witches' Institute without there being any controversy or problem. But as her family was recently stationed in England, and neither her father nor mother knew of any family in England (neither magical nor Muggle), it had been up to Hailey's magical parents, both of whom were stationed with Julie's parents, to find families for both Julie and Hailey to stay with. Since the Titington's didn't want to disrupt one of their friends with _two _teenage girls, they decided to split them up, but keep them within as close of a distance as possible. The Clywalker's had given into Julie, so here they were today, sipping tea by the fireside.

"Three," Julie replied after she had taken a huge sip of sweet tea and put it down on the coffee table beside Matilda's. "I've lived with three families, besides my own. The Rasalhague's from the age of seven to eleven…but as soon as Mrs. Rasalhague became pregnant, they just couldn't keep me there, you see. They wanted to start their own family, and I don't blame them at all for it. I'm kind of awkward to have around. They were nice, though." Julie paused, reached out for her tea, and took a few gulps.

_She seems too old_, Matilda seemed to think as she witnessed Julie explaining one of her families casually, then sip her tea as though she were a grown woman at a meeting. There was a wise, almost all-knowing glint in her tone of speech, yet underneath it there was a layer of doubt, and her actions were almost boring and still. There was something so intriguing about her however, as though there was a story that had yet to be told about Julie Logan. Matilda stayed silent, and as Julie met her eyes, continued.

"I had received my letter of acceptance into the Salem Witches' Institute almost the moment I moved in with the Hadar's. They lived very close to my parents' base, so they ended up visiting whenever possible during the holidays. I lived there for two years, until they were both killed by those Dark Wizards…I believe they call themselves Death Eaters?"

Matilda had dropped her glass of tea on the floor but quickly muttered "_Reparo_," to fix the mess. This had caused Julie to ponder whether she was using the term correctly. Wizarding families were prone during those times to ignore the obvious signs of evil and Darkness and live their life as though nothing was wrong. Julie had seen for herself how the moment a family saw the madness with their own eyes, they could never again blissfully ignore the Darkness that did, in fact, hover around them each and every day.

"Oh, yes, that is correct, dear…" Matilda's round eyes and bony facial structure seemed to be twitching nervously. "How did – were you there?"

Julie shook her head. "Oh no, don't worry," Julie replied with an easy smile. "I was at school, in my third year. It was almost the end of the school year when it happened. I was never too close to them though, as I had only spent holidays with them. I never really knew them that well. It was like losing someone that you were never close to, but knew all the same. It was more of a guilty feeling than a pitiful one; I regretted never trying to get to know them better." She sighed.

"I then moved in with the Farrow's," Julie smiled reminiscently at the memory. "They were an old couple, so there weren't any chances of them having a child, and the chances of Dark Wizards or that Lord Voldewart or whatever finding something interesting in them, something worth killing for, was extremely doubtful. They were very kind, almost like the grandparents I never had. They had only had one child, a son named Ralph, but he had long since grown up, and by the time I joined the household, had ended up being a Quidditch coach for the Chudley Cannons! He was a very kind man, looked ten years younger than his real age. I guess that's what happens if you play Quidditch your whole life!" Julie laughed. "But then, my parents got deployed here and now, I'm staying with a lovely family called the Clywalker's." Julie's eyes peered amorously around the room. "This is probably the most unique house I've lived in."

Matilda looked at Julie hopefully. "Well, Antares being one of the core designers for the Ministry of Magic," Matilda explained, using her husband's name smoothly, "does seem to have its advantages, doesn't it?" She attempted to smile, but her jaw dropped in failure. "So, Julie…you didn't mind me asking you those questions, did you?"

Julie had been sipping her tea quietly, glad for an excuse not to talk; she was very shy, though if around people she knew well enough, could make due with a nice, simple, fun conversation. Almost everything she had so far said felt forced out of her brain and robotically formed into words. Julie seemed surprised at almost half the things she said, as though she didn't expect it. This seemed off, however Julie's whole day had seemed a bit weird, so she decided to not over-think it.

As Julie put her glass down on the table, ready to reply to Matilda, she felt tiny hands - or something along those lines - crushing her brain together in an excruciatingly painful fashion. This pain was worse than anything Julie had ever felt felt in her whole life; it gripped her mind with tough, hard squeezes that suddenly made it hard to breathe. She couldn't even see for a couple of seconds. She felt as though it was exploding, as though there was a huge pen penetrating it from the outside trying to get all the way through. Abruptly, her head eased out a breath of exhaustion. For the first time since leaving Hailey on the corner of Chalk Road, Julie seemed relieved and happy. She also didn't feel confused at all, and was surprised that she had ever pondered such silly things about who she was, where she was, and who was with her.

"Are you alright, dear?" asked Matilda nervously as she got up from her armchair to Julie, who had been clutching her head whilst moaning with pain.

Julie was still sitting in the same spot on the couch, though her hands were free of her head, her sweating that had only lasted a second had stopped, and now she was almost grinning.

"Oh, I'm fine!" Julie said much too enthusiastically. Suddenly, she realized she sounded crazy, so quickly added, "It was just some piercing headache type thing." She sighed. "It's fine," she added tranquilly. "I sometimes get these on again, off again headaches. I'm sorry."

She was speaking English, though Matilda wasn't sure if it was the American accent or the mixed emotions that seemed to cover up Julie Logan's true thoughts.

"Oh, and no, I don't mind you asking me these questions," Julie replied to Matilda's question with a kind wave of her right hand. She smiled weakly. She found that it was sometimes hard to smile and truly mean it.

Matilda regained her seat at the armchair and looked expectantly at the circle on the ceiling, hoping her husband would fly out of it soon, muttering nonsense mumbles about work. But Antares didn't, so with a very reluctant and almost fearful look at Julie, opened her mouth and asked, "Do you have any brothers or sisters? I know we would have probably gotten them too, but the Titington's had split you and Hailey up—"

"No, I don't. I wish I did...sometimes. I enjoy being alone, though, so I guess it just is what it is." Julie sighed a gasp of air that seemed to mature for a sixteen-year-old to outtake.

There was suddenly a piercing wisp of steam along with a loud dinging noise that sprung Matilda out of her seat. "Damn, I forgot about the soup!"

Her bony arms and legs disappeared through the doorway behind the armchairs, the same door she had gone through upon Julie's arrival.

Julie stood up and walked towards the fireplace, watching with fascination as small, orange embers detached itself from the fire just long enough to trail down a piece of dark wood before burning itself out with a crack or by simply burning too long. Julie then started to wonder whether life was like that: Sometimes life stops for the simple reason that our time is up and we've lived as far as time will allow.

Julie was disrupted from her thoughts as the kind young woman bustled back into the living quarters, her hair that had been pulled back into a messy bun now releasing strands of wavy, dark hair. "Sorry about that, dear. If one thing's for certain, while you live here, you'll have to endure this old woman's lack of memory _and_ her foul language."

Julie cracked a quiet laugh, and turned back around to face Matilda, who was surprisingly a head taller than Julie. "Its fine Ms.—"

"—Matilda!" the woman cut in, the eyes that Julie considered a dark shade of violet with a whirl of brown suddenly beading into slits. "I swear, if you want to be part of this family, you're going to need to start obeying my orders," she said in a joking tone, though something about her words seemed real.

Julie sighed. "Okay, Matilda." She looked up to see her new guardian smile weakly. "And it's fine. Everything's fine, really," said Julie, her shyness for some odd reason creeping up on her like it always did in the middle of conversations.

A blue light abruptly shined brightly throughout the room. Julie and Matilda both looked up.

On the ceiling right above the metal table-looking area, a circle was engraved on the ceiling, surrounded by a piercing metal. The metal had turned a bright blue to match the color the gate had turned upon Julie's arrival. Then, as the circle lowered itself to reveal dirt, grass, and seemingly well-polished black shoes, Julie and Matilda both knew that Antares Clywalker was entering the living room.

Julie hadn't spent much time with either of the Clywalker's, though she had spent the least amount of time with Antares. He seemed like a kind man, and looked foreign yet spoke with a clear and precise British accent. As the grass hit the platform, and Antares jumped off the stairs, he walked over to his wife and Julie.

"Hello, honey," he said as he gave his wife a swift kiss on the cheek. His gaze then shifted towards Julie, whom had just arrived the day before. "Julie, how are you?"

Julie shrugged as Antares brought the suitcase he was carrying across the room and set it beside the umbrella stand near the kitchen door.

"Fine, I guess."

Antares looked up with a playful glint in his very light brown eyes. "Well that's good, because tomorrow I have a surprise for you."

Julie stayed standing where she already was, a frown creasing in between her brows. "A surprise?"

Antares laughed as he passed Julie to lie down on the couch. Julie just then noticed how young both of the Clywalker's looked.

Antares looked like he was in his early thirties. He had dark, black hair and foreign tan skin. He was a thickset man, but not necessarily overweight. He wasn't too tall for a full grown man; at most he was an inch above Julie. Antares looked somewhat like Mexican and Italian mixed. Julie was very interested in genetics, and thought that a good question to ask him one day would be about his heritage. His lips were full, and his eyes the lightest shade of brown Julie ever saw. Antares Clywalker seemed liked a kind, young, energetic man, and from what Julie had seen, could get as excitable as a five-year-old on Christmas Day over simple, everyday things.

"Yes, a surprise," replied Antares. "But you don't get it until tomorrow…and for all I know you may not like it but, eh—" he shrugged his shoulders while still laying down leisurely on the bright blue couch. "—what can you do?"

Julie smiled kindly and sat in the armchair across from the couch, the one that Matilda had not just occupied. "I think I'll like it."

Antares nodded and stretched his arms over his head. He finally put forth enough effort to push himself in a sitting position.

As Matilda entered the room, Julie couldn't help but wonder about her age and ethnicity too. She had thick, rich dark brown hair with those damn eyes that Julie couldn't tell were brown shaded with purple, or if it was just Julie's fascination with small things that over-reacted to Matilda's eyes. She was very tall, skinny and bony, almost as though she hadn't eaten a day in her life. Her smile was full and kind, and she looked as though she were in her late-twenties. She was tan too, but it looked more natural than inherited.

"Alright, time for supper!" exclaimed Matilda.

Both Julie and Antares jumped up from their seats and walked across the room, up a few steps to get to a platform, and sat at a long, circular table. It reminded Julie of the one that the grass landed on, but she looked across the room and realized that the grass' circular pad was much shorter, smaller, and by far closer to the ground. Julie sat at the side of the table facing the living room and the circular, table-like object; Matilda sat across from Julie, facing the bewitched window that was now showing a pink sunset; Antares sat to Julie's left and Matilda's right at the head of the table.

Antares began to talk jovially about his job and the windows in the house, in which caused Julie to twirl around in her chair to look at the sunset. It was heartbreakingly beautiful, and Julie couldn't help but wonder if Hailey was looking at the same sunset.

She was.

ϟ

As Hailey Titington turned away from Julie at the corner between Elias Road and Ocert Drive, she walked down the whole street of small, unoccupied houses. They all were old and deserted with the exception of two that housed Muggles. They usually weren't home, however, as Elias Road and everywhere around it were probably some of the most boring places in England. The sidewalk was bumpy and rocky, and if Hailey had been a klutz, she would have probably tripped over every crack.

Hailey passed the last house on the block, and stopped, as the sidewalk did, on the corner connecting Chalk Road with Forsat Avenue. On the corner stood a tall, black, peeling lamp post. It looked old and battered, and the glass at the top of the lamp post was shattered. The light didn't seem to be working either.

The lamp post seemed like it was supposed to be familiar, and with an unpleasant jolt right behind her eyes, somewhat between the connection from her brain to her pupils, Hailey looked down at the base of the street lamp.

The base seemed rustier, but was less peeled than, the upper parts of the structure. It spread out elegantly onto the ground, with an odd design surrounding its edges. Hailey crouched down and eyed it expectantly, then, with the same feeling between her eyes and her brain thumping even harder, remembered that the design was majestic lions in different poses, looking as brave and sophisticated as animals could look. Hailey rounded the streetlamp a few times, now remembering why she was there, but that fact alone didn't cease her curiosity. There were nine lions, and in what seemed to be the middle of the design stood one that looked taller, bigger, stronger, and more refined than any of the others. Somehow knowing what to do, Hailey crouched down lower, and found the left paw of its hind leg. She pushed the paw with her finger, and suddenly the whole covering of the lamp post disappeared.

The body of the lamp post looked fuzzy and contorted; it was as though a camera lens had fogged up while taking pictures, and the black paint had disappeared from its surface. Quiet sounds seemed to be echoing from where the black paint used to be. Hailey rounded it once more. She wasn't confused. Every second, more information was piling into her brain like a dump pile. Not only was the black paint gone, but the light at the top shone bright, and the lions at the bottom had come to life at the foot of the post. They were moving curiously, graciously, looking this way and that and opening their mouths as though trying to roar, but either the fact that they weren't alive or that the black paint stayed on top of eight of the lions, no sound came out. They looked like animated creatures, prowling around the bottom of what had seemed to be a run-down street lamp. The middle and king lion that Hailey had pressed on was in color now; it was a light brown with a frizzy ginger mane, and amber eyes with some sort of knowing glint. Hailey could have sworn it was trying to smile at her, but shook the thought off as she looked once more at the fuzzy, unclear body of the "lamp post".

With a determining looked etched on her face, Hailey walked straight into it. It felt like walking through jello for a total of one second before walking onto a welcoming mat inside a predominately brown room. For a moment, Hailey had to regain her balance and focus her vision before stepping down the two short stairs to her old family friends' main room. Her mind seemed to have told her this just minutes before.

"Hello, Hailey!" A bright blue-eyed man with black hair and a mustache to match looked up from the _Daily Prophet _paper he seemed to have been reading.

Hailey smiled uncertainly, peering around the place while slowly walking towards the man sitting on a couch. "Hey, Uncle Rigel." There was another thump in her eyes right after she blinked, and she suddenly was showered with information falling into her brain like a furious thunderstorm.

_The man in front of me is Rigel Fray. He works for the _Daily Prophet_ as a writer. I've known him for a long time because he was best friends with my dad. I call him Uncle even though we aren't related. I'm here because my parents got deployed again and my grandparents weren't up to moving across the world this late in life. I'm going to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry after spending five years at the Salem Witches' Institute._

He smiled jovially as he put out his cigar, which had been dangling in between perfectly aligned teeth. Rigel Fray was skinny and tall, and looked ten years younger than forty, his actual age. "Have a nice walk?"

Hailey took a seat beside him on the couch. "Yeah, I guess. There isn't much to do around here," Hailey said pointedly.

Rigel laughed as he closed the Daily Prophet, threw it onto the coffee table in front of him, and turned to look playfully at Hailey. "What did you expect, roller coasters?" He laughed jovially and rested his elbow on his knee and his chin on his hand. "You're way too much like your father."

Hailey sneered at the man she had known since childhood. "In what ways?"

"Well for one thing," started Rigel, his eyes starting to light up as he got to mention his friend, "both you and Stephen are too straight-forward. You both are athletic. You both seem to be outgoing and don't seem to care about what others think. You always have high expectations of things so they always end up being bad in your opinion. And lastly, you both have somehow managed to befriend an old man like me."

Hailey snickered as she drew her eyes away from Rigel and towards nowhere. "That's me alright. Not really sure if it's my dad at all, but that is all definitely me." She then turned towards Rigel. "And stop complimenting yourself. You're not old, you're ancient."

"Both have a sense of humor," said a woman's wavy voice. Hailey snapped her head to her left and was surprised to find (with a soft jolt behind her eyes) a short, slightly plump light blonde sitting on an armchair identical to the color of her hair. She too had blue eyes, but they were extremely pale and watery. The chair was seated near the stone fireplace. Beside the fireplace was a window, somehow seeing through the coverings of the lamp post and out onto the street. One of the neighboring houses was visible, and right above it the sky gleamed the same color as Mrs. Fray's eyes, with clouds whizzing behind leaf-less, dead trees.

At another jolt, thoughts seemed to enter Hailey's mind quickly but piercingly, almost like the feeling of getting your ears pierced, though it was somewhat connected between Hailey's stinging eyes and aching forehead. _Mrs. Fray works as an Auror instructor in the fields of Apparating and Disapparrating. _Mrs. Fray's pale skin seemed to reverberate that thought: everything about her looked see-through, as though she had disappeared and reappeared one too many times.

Hailey managed a smile in response to the woman's statement. "Oh – er – thanks."

Mrs. Fray did nothing in response. She seemed to be gazing at the fire, her mind off in space.

"Aquila?"

Aquila Fray's head jerked up in acknowledgement at her husband's voice. "Yes, Rigel?" she asked airily.

"Don't you think we should have dinner up on the terrace tonight? It is the end of Hailey's first full day staying here," Rigel insisted, "so I think we should do something special."

Aquila's gaze fixed upon Hailey, who had a small grin on her face to show that she was looking forward to it already.

"I suppose so."

Hailey looked at Rigel. "I didn't know you had a terrace!"

Rigel laughed merrily. "I don't think it's what you expect it to be."

They spent the next half hour in the kitchen, helping eachother cook the food while laughing at eachother's jokes. Rigel seemed like a giddy, imaginative five-year-old, and even Aquila was gaining color in her cheeks and seemed to be tuned in to reality. Hailey couldn't help but wonder why they had never had children, because to Hailey, they seemed like they'd make excellent parents.

After they were done cooking, they laid the food all out on the kitchen table.

"We'll Summon all of this after we get up there," said Aquila, her voice still foggy but a lot more distinct.

Rigel walked to the opposite side of the kitchen where there was nothing on the walls but a huge moving picture of a strong, large eagle flying through a thunderstorm. "Garuda!"

The eagle suddenly stopped flying headfirst through the rain. The picture frame was like a video camera, recording its flight through the thunder and lightning without a care. The bird flew towards the tip of the frame after being called, where he seemed much more big and real.

Hailey watched this with hints of curiosity gleaming in her dark blue eyes. Everything was so different in this house…in England. Hailey wasn't like Julie; Hailey had only lived with her family: her parents and grandparents. Change was going to be something she would have to adapt with.

The eagle started hawking violently, shaking its head.

"Come on, you damn bird, just hit the switch!" Rigel was whining, his voice still sounding young. "You always do it for Aquila!"

The bird shook its head, a mad look penetrating Rigel.

Hailey felt Aquila thrust past her with the brush of a shoulder. Mrs. Fray then pushed Mr. Fray out of the view of the portrait, and said calmly, "Garuda, if you get the chance, you wouldn't mind—"

The bird nodded in excitement and zoomed up out of the upper part of the picture frame.

"I give up," said Mr. Fray exasperatedly as the bird zoomed out of sight.

"Rigel here has always tried to get the eagle to listen to him, but Garuda never has and _never will_," she said, and during the last two words faced her husband. Aquila then turned back to Hailey and added, "She's been passed down through my family, you see. Whoever's the youngest girl in the next generation gets it. You can connect it with another portrait, and it can perform tasks for you. I only got it a few years ago, when my aunt died. My older sister wanted it much more than I did, but I ended up being the rightful owner."

Hailey nodded, letting all of this information sink in. "So, as of now, the only person it will perform tasks for is you?"

Aquila nodded proudly, and though her skin was still pale, she looked more real than ever before.

The bird suddenly flew back into the picture, its wings flinging droplets of water.

Aquila slapped Rigel's hands that were attempting to pry open the portrait. Aquila's hands seemed made for the task, for the portrait swung open comfortably within seconds.

"Show-off," Rigel grumbled as he climbed into the dark hole.

"After you," said Aquila smoothly to Hailey.

Hailey reluctantly looked at the space in the wall. It was big, dark, and she couldn't see any signs of Rigel Fray in it. She put her palms on what seemed to be a cold, hard floor and pulled the rest of her body up into what felt like a small, cold cell.

Suddenly, Hailey felt like she had upon entering the house. It was like she was being pushed through jello, only this time, it seemed to be happening much too fast, and she started to feel as though her body was squeezing itself as close as it possibly could. Hailey blinked, and there was light. Her body seemed to wiggle its way back together, and she slowly regained her posture. Her eyes widened, her mouth dropped, and her vision came back into focus and scanned her surroundings. She couldn't believe her eyes.

She was standing in – it couldn't be – the top part of the lamp post. Hailey saw the light bulb, now off, in the center of the round, circular room. There were small golden eagles, much like the lions at the bottom of the lamp post, that were flying freely around the whole bottom wall of the lamp. She saw that the pane in which the window was cracked actually had a tiny banister linking to two sides of the glass, and that there was a table set near it.

Hailey hadn't noticed Rigel and Aquila were standing right beside her, beaming at her obviously flabbergasted response to the magic they had performed.

"This isn't—"

"It is," replied Aquila, a bit more foggy than she had been in the kitchen.

Rigel took Hailey's shoulder and led her over to the table. "We're about the size of our big toes," Rigel said at Hailey's expression, still full of shock.

Hailey smiled as he conjured an extra chair out of thin air to add to the two that already existed.

"Uncle Rigel, how come I've known you all these years and you've never mentioned any of, well," Hailey pointed up, down, and around the room, "this? You never said anything about an eagle that won't obey you—"

"—she will obey me! Well, one day, maybe…" He caught his wife's gaze and cleared his throat. "…or maybe not."

Hailey giggled. "But how come? _This _is kind of worth mentioning!"

Rigel sighed as Aquila took her seat and soon followed suit. "The same reason why you never mentioned to me how your staircase turned colors depending on what mood you were in, how your table set itself magically at the same time every day, and how your closets always magically set itself ready for the outfit you would wear the next day." Rigel began digging in his dark brown coat. "I know you've only lived in that ruddy old house your grandparents have, and the rest of the time you've been at that boarding school in the States. But Hailey, in case you haven't noticed, there's a lot more magic, places, and things to offer if you ever went looking." He grinned slightly as he pulled out his wand. "Ah."

"What're you doing?" asked Hailey, glad her question was answered but didn't want to go any deeper on the subject of her boring, secluded life.

Aquila smiled kindly. "Summoning the food, of course."

"But won't it be huge?"

Rigel laughed. "It's going through the portrait, so it'll get shrunken too, darling." He chuckled. "You worry too much. _Accio dinner_!"

Food came whizzing out of a small square-like portrait that Hailey determined must house the twin eagle portrait. It all (surprisingly) landed slowly and perfectly on the table without making any messy interactions.

The food was delicious, and Hailey wasn't sure if she'd ever been this happy in her life. She was talking merrily with the Fray's, the cold breeze whipping at their faces from the broken glass. She was feeling very homesick, but she was happy where she was then and left her thoughts at that, until a disturbing question got stuck in her mind.

"Uncle Rigel?"

"Mhm?" he asked, his mouth full.

"What all is Hogwarts like?" asked Hailey. This question had been eating her lately whenever she was alone and allowed herself to get deep in thought, something Hailey Titington didn't really enjoy much. She always liked to bottle up any feelings she didn't like, and neither act them out or even let them cross her mind. But this question had been pulling at her every hair each time she ever considered it, and needed an answer.

Aquila's attention suddenly seemed to have formed around her husband and "niece", as her watery eyes were suddenly focused once more.

Rigel sighed as he wiped his mouth and looked at Hailey. "Well, er – what exactly do you want to know?" He sighed and looked her straight in the eye. "It's mostly like your school, except boys are accepted too and Hogwarts is probably a little bigger. They teach all of the same subjects as they did at S. W. A., you have seven years of school, and you have weekend trips into Hogsmeade, the local wizarding village."

Hailey's eyes were lit up. "That's cool! What all's in Hogsmeade?"

Rigel smiled at Hailey's American slang but said nothing. "Oh, you'll find plenty of shops that interest you. There's bookstores, joke shops, and you can get butterbeer at the Three Broomsticks." Rigel contemplated for a moment, his gaze off focus, as though his mind was replaying moments when he once went to school at Hogwarts. "Oh, and there's that fairly new place, it's apparently haunted. There's been screams and everything heard – what is it called again, Aquila?"

"The Shrieking Shack," said Aquila coolly, "but I really don't think it's all that haunted. If you ask me, it's just a tourist attraction, that's it."

"It's a boarding school too, right? Hogwarts, I mean," clarified Hailey, worried they would get off topic.

"Yes, it's a boarding school. A terrific one, at that…the Gryffindor dorms were, at least. Softest sheets I ever slept in," Rigel recounted.

"…Gryffindor?" asked Hailey, confused.

Aquila giggled. "You don't know about the Hogwarts houses?"

Hailey looked befuddled. "Houses?" She looked from Rigel to Aquila. "No…"

Rigel took another bite and swallow of chicken before explaining to Hailey, "I don't know how they worked it at your old school, Hailey, but Hogwarts is divided into four Houses – that is to say, four dorms – Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. They were the four founders of Hogwarts, they were, and complete and utter geniuses. Anywho, you'll get Sorted into a House by the Sorting Hat…first years get to do it in front of the school, but I don't know about you and Julie, considering you're transfers."

Hailey had taken a bite of her brownie and frowned. Gulping, she asked, "Why don't you know?"

Rigel looked at her incredulously. "Do I look like the Head of Hogwarts Admittance Council?"

"No," said Hailey defiantly, "but do you mean that no one ever transferred to Hogwarts while you were there?"

Aquila shook her head and answered for her husband, "Transfers have only ever happened a few times in Hogwarts history. We were surprised they even considered accepting you. Hogwarts is extremely selective of the students they let in. You and Julie must've gotten terrific O. W. L.'s, you two."

"Oh, Julie did, definitely," said Hailey with a hint of obviousness in her tone of speech. "I didn't though. I mean, I did alright, but I don't really care much about grades…"

Seeing the curious looks Rigel and Aquila were giving eachother, Hailey asked another question. "What House were you two in?"

Hailey gave a soft sigh of relief as both Aquila and Rigel seemed ready to answer.

"Gryffindor House," said Rigel proudly.

"Hufflepuff," said Aquila shortly.

"What exactly makes each House different from one another?" asked Hailey, now trying to figure out what house she would be in.

"Well, you're sorted into Gryffindor by whether you are daring, brave, or have nerve and chivalry. Hufflepuff values hard work, patience and loyalty. Slytherin will take you in if you have ambition or are very cunning. Lots of bad ones come out of Slytherin…that's not to say all of them are, but most…" Rigel looked up at Aquila anxiously as if he wanted to ensure he was explaining this all right, and when she merely looked at him with a small smile, he spit out the last part with a bit of reassurance. "And Ravenclaw is basically for people with intelligence, wit, creativity, and knowledge."

Hailey looked at the two worryingly. "But what if I don't fit any of those requirements? I'm not brave or cunning or smart or loyal…who sorts us anyway, some biased teacher?"

Aquila laughed woozily. "Everyone fits one of those requirements, honey. Most of the time people actually have to sit there and wait for the Sorting Hat to figure out which House they'll be in since they fit more than one."

"A Sorting Hat? A _hat_ will sort me and Julie?" Hailey snorted. "Because a hat can totally see into our personalities," she said sarcastically as she pushed her plate of food a few inches away from her.

Normal people would have scolded Hailey for being constantly sarcastic and would have made her go up to her room without even clearing up her remark. However, Rigel and Aquila Fray had known Hailey long enough to know that this was her, whether you liked it or not.

"The Hat can see into your brain and soul. It can tell what qualities you strive and what qualities you lack." Rigel sipped some of his drink and put it down, and added thoughtfully, "You seem like a Gryffindor to me."

Hailey snuffed. "Is that a good thing?"

Rigel beamed. "Didn't I just tell you I was a Gryffindor?"

"Yes, you did, so is that why you turned out so weird?" asked Hailey playfully.

Rigel stood up, laughing slightly. "I think it's about time we made our way back down."

Aquila and Hailey both stood up, their stomachs full. Before they made their way to the small portrait, Hailey looked over at the clear view of the pink sunset, and wondered if Julie was watching.

She was.

ϟ

London was busy. Engines and smoke engulfed Julie Logan and Hailey Titington's lungs, although it was very fun and interesting to be out in the midst of things, watching Muggles go about their business.

They crossed the street to see a door placed right at a corner of what looked like downtown London. It was as though the Muggles didn't even see the place, as they all walked past it without a second glance, and neither Julie nor Hailey saw anyone enter it. The small building looked old and closed.

To passing Muggles, the six must have looked quite odd. There was Julie, tall, skinny and pale; a tan, foreign, smiling Antares; Matilda was looking sickly skinny, too tall for her own good, and fidgety; Hailey was almost the height of Antares, and looked young and healthy; Aquila seemed deep in thought, the wind threatening to tear away her white-blonde wisps of hair; Rigel seemed to have a spring in his step, tapping his cigar out by the trash bin near the crossway of the road, and smiled at all the Muggles that curiously peered their way. Julie, being Half Blood, always had with her one of her dad's old suits and dresses that her grandmother sewed; Julie, Antares, and Matilda seemed to fit in alright. Hailey had borrowed an old, small outfit of Julie's. Rigel, however, was wearing a long, billowing cloak, only to be out-done by Aquila, whose robes matched her sky-blue, creamy eyes.

They crossed the road as the sign switched to a green person walking.

"Muggles these days really know how to get along without magic…" Matilda said curiously, peering around the shops and stores as they crossed the road.

Rigel then mounted the sidewalk, at least a step quicker than everyone else, and opened up a rusted, fogged-up door.

"Into the Leaky Cauldron now, everyone!"

Hailey stepped in first, followed by Antares and Matilda who were both side-by-side. Aquila then walked in with her eyes curiously examining the ceiling, which left Julie last in line as Rigel shut the door.

"Enjoying your stay?" asked Rigel kindheartedly.

Julie's head snapped up, before slightly blushing from having to talk, then said, "Oh, yes, it's been great."

Rigel eyed her curiously. He had only seen Julie and greeted her the day she arrived.

"Sorry, Tom, going to Diagon Alley for school supplies," said Antares with a half-smile as he made his way to the back of the run-down, old bar.

A man that looked to be in his mid-sixties looked up from the counter. He had a dirty rag in his hand, where he had been fiercely scrubbing one particular part of the counter, as though there was a stain that just wouldn't come out. "Kids?" he scruffed, eyeing all the way from Antares to where Rigel and Julie stood side-by-side. "Since when have you two have kids?"

"They're family friends," said Rigel smoothly. "Nothing to go running to the _Daily Prophet_ about. Anywho, I'd know if you did anyways, wouldn't I?"

It took a second for Hailey and Julie to realize the connection between what Uncle Rigel had just said and his job at the Wizarding newspaper company.

Tom said nothing in response except for a low grunt. He then regained a firm grip on his dirty rag as he resumed scrubbing the counter.

Antares opened up a screen door and walked out onto a small patio, where a brick wall stood tall, proud, and indifferent in front of them.

As Antares murmured to Julie how they were getting into Diagon Alley, and Rigel walked towards Hailey and did the same, Matilda walked towards a silver trashcan and took out her wand.

"Three up…two across…" she murmured as she tapped her wand in mid-air above each of the bricks, then gave one three small taps with the tip of her wand.

The brick shuttered, and a small hole started to grow in the middle of the brick wall, a lot like how it had done for the fence at the Clywalker's. Then a large, tall archway formed, so tall and huge that the six of them could have stood side-by-side and walked through it without even having to squeeze against one another.

They walked onto a cobbled street pavement as yells suddenly penetrated their hearing.

"Ge' yo' candy fo' less than a knu'!"

"Enchanted jewelry, buy one get two free!"

"Have any of you ever wanted a home-made broom? Then step on o'er here, ladies and gents, only twenty galleons!"

"_Only_," Antares muttered sarcastically as the two families made their way out into the middle of the busy square.

Hailey and Julie glanced around, their eyes widened with surprise, and their mouths dropped with shock. Sure, they had had _Witches' Way_, a shopping center for witches attending their school, but they had grown so used to it that the initial shock had worn off. Diagon Alley seemed much more crazy and sloppily built together, with magic bursting at the seams. They _loved _it.

They both simultaneously reached out for their supply lists, before Matilda snatched it away from both of them.

"No, no, no, no…" she said stubbornly as she looked them both straight in the eye. "You two are going to have fun, not be forced to buy school books." She smiled as she continued, "Just be careful, and you're bound to run into one of us at some point—"

"—Actually," Antares cut in, "I needed to give Julie something…her surprise."

"And Uncle Rigel said he'd buy me an owl!" Hailey exclaimed, sounding very happy.

Matilda eyed the two men and two teenagers worryingly before Aquila suggested hoarsely, "Let them have their fun, Matilda." Aquila then turned to the four remaining and added, "See you in an hour and a half."

Aquila Fray and Matilda Clywalker then turned on their heels with a last smile and wave of goodbye, and vanished into a store with letters atop it that read **Flourish and Blott's**.

"Right then, where to first?" asked Rigel as he put his hand on Hailey's shoulder. The four started walking the opposite way as Matilda and Aquila, Hailey and Julie still looking around excitedly.

"How about you two head over to the Owlery?" suggested Antares, who was now anxiously peering out of the corner of his eyes to the usually silent Julie. "Julie and I will go over to – well, her surprise – and whoever's done first can head over to the others."

Rigel nodded his head reasonably. "Fine with me." He then steered Hailey to a sudden halt and turn and said, "See you two around."

Hailey looked over her shoulder and waved a very excited goodbye to Julie. Julie smiled back and gave Hailey a thumbs-up, and watched as the two of them disappeared behind a white door.

"This way, Julie," Antares said with a smile.

Julie smiled shyly and commented, "Sir, I really am happy you're doing this, but you really shouldn't be getting me anything…you took me in when I was sure no one would. Believe me, that in itself was a happy surprise."

Antares shook his head quickly. "No, Julie, believe me. I _want _to give you this. It was easy to get and if you don't want it or like it or can't put it to good use…" He sighed and put his hand on Julie's shoulder in almost a father-like way, and concluded, "I'm sure you'll find someone who would gladly take it from you. Right, here we are."

**Quality Quidditch Supplies** was put on a sign over the door, and Julie couldn't help but steal a glance at the window.

There were three brooms in each window, but the middle one was the same in each. They both were silver yet had dark brown thistles at the end, and before Julie could read the sign that identified them, Antares was beckoning her inside.

The store was a sight to behold. Julie's old broomstick supply store may have been the quarter of the size of the shop in Diagon Alley, with only mediocre instruments and brooms to buy. There were suitcases full of Broomstick supplies while some inventions stood alone. Broomsticks were whacked up against the wall with prices underneath; the ones near the bottom seemed to be the cheapest, and the higher the wall went the higher the prices became. There was also a part of the store dedicated solemnly to Quidditch teams around the world with posters, t-shirts, figurines and books to buy and help support your favorite team. There was also a "How-To" section, with small brooms that only levitated a few feet off the ground stationed near it. In the middle of the store stood a glass exhibit of the same broom Julie had seen in the windows. Most of the customers seemed drawn to it, and Julie looked up to see whether Antares had looked excited about it or not. She could only see the back of his head, but he was still trekking towards the back register, so Julie followed.

Julie was under the impression that Antares was going to let her buy one of the brooms in the shop. _If so_, thought Julie desperately, _I'll just get the cheapest one they have._

Julie Logan wasn't a bad Quidditch player, and she didn't hate it either; actually, she had found it a good way to blow off steam during her summers with families she hadn't enjoyed. But she had never played for a team…heck, she hadn't even played a proper game of Quidditch in her life!

Julie walked up to the wooden register beside Antares, lines now appearing on his face.

"Can I help you?" drawled a bored voice. The man behind the register looked as though he was trying to grow out his red hair from a buzz cut; he had pimples all over his face, and his eyes looked a peachy pink. There was a white nametag on his chest bearing the name 'Yorkshire Weasley', the letters of which kept dancing around and changing colors.

Antares looked interestingly at the young boy, and then said with importance, "Yes, I'm Antares Clywalker. My brother works for your twin store in Brazil, and he shipped a broomstick that arrived about two days ago. He'd given it to me free of charge," said Antares, now smiling at Julie's mouth opening and closing.

_Brazil? _ Antares had told his brother to ship him a broomstick for Julie…from _Brazil_?

Every country, and sometimes every unique Quidditch store, carried different brands and types of brooms for their customers. Julie knew that if it was a broomstick that they carried here, Antares would have simply bought it in Diagon Alley. Why did he go to all that trouble? _After all_, thought Julie, _all I've really done is get in his way._

The teenage boy looked from Antares to Julie, a tedious gleam in his watery eyes, and said in monotone, "Yeah, the manager told us about you."

He leapt down from a tall footstool he had been sitting on and walked towards the wall to his left, where a door that read _Employees Only _stood slightly ajar.

"Damn it, Kajar," the boy muttered. He opened the door before he swiveled around and said, "Wait here."

The boy walked a few steps in and peered around. "KAJAR, YOU GOT THE BRAZIL BROOM?"

Julie squinted her eyes and peered around the door. A black man that looked a few years older than Yorkshire replied, "Right here, Yorky. Someone here to pick it up?" Kajar then patted a long, brown package with his left hand affectionately. He seemed to be in a swivel chair.

Julie couldn't see if Yorkshire nodded his head or not, but suddenly heard the drawl of his voice recite, "_Accio package_."

Julie watched as the brown package flew across the huge, dark grey room and into what seemed to be Yorkshire's arms. The young man suddenly came walking towards them once more, sliding sideways through the door as though not to hurt the broom, and kicked the door shut with his foot. He then yelled through the crack, "And remember to shut the door next time!"

Julie could have sworn she heard a grunt in reply, but wasn't sure. Yorkshire led them back to the counter where he laid the broom lazily atop it. He looked at the label on top of it and gasped.

"Blimey, that isn't a…but they're rare! They're some of the most expensive – and you got it – how—"

Julie's eyes looked frantically up at Antares' with a look that clearly stated, _You shouldn't have done this._

Antares gave her a look in return that said, _But I wanted to._

"Could we go look for some stuff to go with it—" Antares started.

"—No," said Julie forcefully. "No, seriously Mr…er—" Julie just realized she had never addressed Antares. "—Mr. Clywalker. This gift is amazing, I seriously don't want anything else. Thank you, really." Julie smiled feebly.

Antares smiled. "You sure?"

Julie nodded slowly. "Yeah, thank you."

Antares looked up at the clerk. "This'll be it, then."

"Wait—" Yorkshire seemed to have gotten out of his daze of admiring the broom and waved his wand over the register, and small packages blocked from the customers' view behind the broom appeared. Yorkshire flicked his wand again and the package containing the broom lifted mere inches above the surface, just so that Antares and Julie could see small, plastic bags containing small instruments.

Julie looked up at the cashier. "No, it's fine, we'll just take the broom."

Yorkshire looked at her, the bored tone once more in his voice. "This is a complementary gift with any broom purchase. That is, if you call this a purchase…" He eyed Antares suspiciously.

"My brother, Frank, sent this from your store in Brazil. He works there. He paid for it with his worker's discount."

Yorkshire, rather reluctantly, gazed back down at the small silver clips and brushes in small, plastic bags. "Well, pick one, then."

Antares gestured his hand out to tell Julie to pick.

"I, er—" Julie looked at Antares guiltily. "I don't really know much about this kind of stuff. Just, uh…" She turned to Yorkshire, her shyness controlling too many of her words. He raised his eyebrows at her. Julie scooted over towards the counter, gave a close look, and merely said, "That one…I guess."

Yorkshire grabbed it and handed it to Julie. He swiped his wand over the surface, and the plastic bags suddenly disappeared. He then flicked his wand at the broom, which slowly made its way back down to the counter.

"Have a nice day," Yorkshire said unpleasantly as he took his seat once again, suddenly very intrigued with his fingernails.

"I wonder how Rigel and Hailey are doing," Antares pondered while he reached to grab the broom.

"Thank you…so much," whispered Julie before hugging him.

ϟ

"Ugh, this smells," complained Hailey as they walked into the Owlery.

Rigel smirked at her. "Well, you be looking around. What kind of owl do you like?"

"I don't really know," replied Hailey honestly as they peered around the cramped store. "Scott was a barn owl, so I don't know…it's gonna be so weird having my own owl to use instead of having to share one with my grandma."

"You're welcome," chuckled Rigel.

"Need any help?" asked a man as he came out of a back room right behind a desk. He almost looked like a bird himself: his beard was long and while gray, had streaks of dark brown. His hair was short and white, his eyes beady and narrow, and his nose almost pointed like a beak.

"Oh no, we're fine," replied Rigel.

The clerk smiled. He had yellow, pointed teeth. "Yeah, well just call me if ya need anything, I'm running on a very tight schedule here," the man said importantly.

Hailey couldn't help but smirk at the man's back as he closed the door. She then turned her attention to an owl that was mostly brown with hints of grey and black found within a soft, silky coat. She had dark green eyes and her beak was a dark yellow with patches of brown.

"Uncle Rigel?"

Rigel seemed to have been looking at owls farther down the store. "Mmm?"

"I think I've found one. He – er – she's perfect."

Rigel pranced over to where Hailey was. He looked at the bird she was pointing at. "Sure that's the one you want?"

"Yeah, I'm sure."

"'K, well we might want to inform Mr. Busy."

Hailey giggled. "Uncle Rigel?"

Rigel looked down at the teenager he was standing beside. "Yeah, Hailey?"

"What do you think we should name her?" she asked kindly.

Uncle Rigel seemed to be thinking, as he let his index and middle finger scrub the beginnings of a beard on his chin. "I…I don't know. Did you have anything in mind?"

Hailey sighed. "Cate."

Rigel looked in her eyes. "You're mom's name?"

Hailey sighed as she looked down. "Yeah," she agreed sheepishly.

Rigel pulled his arm around the girl as good as his daughter and pulled her into a tight, inescapable side hug. "I think that's a really good name."

'Mr. Busy' came back out from his office, looking at the two. "Did you find anything?"

Rigel nodded. "That one," he said, pointing at the beautiful bird now eyeing them warily.

Mr. Busy walked over to the soft bird, unclogged a small chain that was wrapped around its foot, and let it climb onto his arm as he approached Hailey and Rigel. As the look of disgust on Hailey's face seemed to reach its climax, Mr. Busy cleared up, "They are only chained during store hours. During the night I let them fly all around the store and my office. Quite a mess they can make, these birds."

And with that, Mr. Busy let Cate climb off his arm and onto Hailey's, who let out a small smile. "Hello there, Cate. Mighty fine day it is! Not only do you get to go home with _me_, but you also get to fly free. What else could you ask for?"

Cate hooted in response, allowing Rigel to laugh peacefully.

"How much?"

After paying for the owl and thanking the man for 'helping', Hailey asked Rigel, "So are we just gonna use your old owl's cage?"

Rigel nodded as he held the door open for a hooting Cate and a smiling Hailey, her dark blue eyes gleaming merrily as they walked out into the sunlight. "It isn't battered at all. If we do find anything wrong with it, I bet Aquila'll know _something _that could set it right."

Hailey smiled as they walked side-by-side by a few stores, nearing 'Quality Quidditch Supplies' by every step they took.

"I'm surprised Cate isn't flying away," Hailey noticed.

"I know, you'd think it'd be scared of you! Look at that terrifying profile!" Rigel stopped and turned Hailey's head sideways, making her laugh. "Gosh, you're hideous. Cate must be used to looks like yours, though, considering she had to live with that rusty old man for Merlin knows _how _long."

Hailey gaped her mouth open as they continued walking. "You can be so mean, Uncle Rigel."

They both came to a halt when they saw from a distance Antares and Julie exiting a store, a broomstick hauled over Julie's shoulder.

"A _broomstick_!" exclaimed Hailey as Julie and Antares came to halt in front of them. She took the package from Julie and started examining it. When she came across the label, her eyes widened and she shrieked. "A _Capella 900_!"

Rigel started to chuckle at Hailey's behavior.

Julie replied easily, "Yeah, Mr. Clywalker – er – Antares' brother works for the 'Quality Quidditch Supplies' store in Brazil, and he sent one over here."

Antares smiled as Rigel's face dropped in disbelief. "You know Frank, don't you?"

"Yeah, I do! Went to Hogwarts with him, he was in my year!" replied Rigel. "But – Antares, I read that only nine-hundred of those things exist!"

Antares smiled. "You read correctly."

Rigel gaped his mouth.

Julie started to frown. "Wait, your brother didn't go to too much trouble to get this, did he? Because if so, I'll send it back, I don't want him spending lots of Galleons on _me_." However, her heart _had_ lifted slightly when Rigel's statistics had been deemed correct; it made her feel special and loved.

Antares rolled his eyes. "Please, Julie. He's the manager of the shop, and his wife's an Auror. Together they make a fortune. He can pull tons of strings where he's at."

Julie's frown turned into a reassuring nod.

They all agreed, as they had about fifteen minutes left before they decided they should meet up with Matilda and Aquila, to go get ice-cream at Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor. They sat at a black table outside the small shop, a red umbrella shading them from the sun. Hailey had gotten chocolate-chip cookie dough ice cream, and Julie had settled for plain chocolate, while Antares ordered Pistachio and Rigel ate strawberry. As they walked out from the happy-go-lucky atmosphere, the claws on Hailey's arm tightened a bit. She looked down at it and scowled.

"Loosen your grip, will ya?" she asked playfully.

The owl did as she was told, her green eyes apologetic.

"Thanks, Cate."

Antares eyed it suspiciously while Julie giggled. "That's one smart bird you've got there," Antares acknowledged.

Hailey smiled at him. "Thanks," she said sweetly. She looked at Cate expectantly, and then added, "Cate says thanks too."

Julie's brow suddenly furrowed. "Why hasn't she tried flying away? I know she flew around our heads a few times, but never out of eye contact."

Hailey's eyes too looked suddenly puzzled. "Yeah, why does she stay with us all the time?"

Rigel looked down at the bird and sighed as he looked at Hailey. "You know, she's been cooped up in that chain for weeks now, and you probably would think she'd want to fly loose. But sometimes, Hailey, we hold on to things not because we have to, but because we want to. Because sometimes we're connected by something far more confining than a simple chain."

Hailey looked up. "Like what?"

Rigel sighed as he stopped and faced her, and put his hand on her shoulder. "Love, Hailey. Love."

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_A/N: I hope you enjoyed! I am happy to confirm that yes, the Marauders are in the next chapter. :) I know this story has started off with almost only my own characters and scenarios, however, hear me out. I want this to be my own story just as much as it is a fanfiction. I want there to be unique scenarios and set-ups compared to other fanfictions. Hailey and Julie are the main characters along with the Marauders, and later on in the story, you'll realize just how critical all this information is. So yes, it has a real purpose. I hope you liked this chapter none-the-less and that it didn't bore you. If anyone has any suggestions or critique for my writing, please review, but please do so kindly! I can take criticism fine, I just don't like mean people. The song I'd suggest listening to after reading this chapter is "To Have a Home" by Darren Criss from Team Starkid. Yes, I know it's from A Very Potter Musical, but hear me out. It just explains how Hailey and Julie feel nervous, yet very comfortable at their new homes, and that maybe they were meant to be in this time period. They're happy, and not longing for something they may never get, and they feel somewhat safe and loved even after an extremely short amount of time. So yeah, I hope you enjoyed, and as I said earlier, I'll try and upload Chapter Four soon! Also, remember that if you want to follow me on twitter or tumblr, the links are on my profile! You don't have to, I'm just putting it there for anyone who cares. __Thanks, I love ALL of you! ~ Kayla_


	4. This is It

_A/N: Hello everyone! Surprise! :P I told you that I'd try and get Chapter Four up soon, and I did. I thankfully had already written all of it and had already started editing, so my job from then on out wasn't too exhausting. I would like to thank anyone who's taken time out of their day to read this so far; you're amazing and awesome and I honestly wouldn't be near as inspired for this if it wasn't for you. Feel free to message me, check out my twitter and tumblr, anything. I promise I don't bite. :) This is the chapter you've all been waiting for most likely...Hailey and Julie finally go to Hogwarts. It's weird...I've been writing this story for over a year, and I've always imagined that everyone else knew what all about the story that I knew; it's sort of surreal and amazing to finally have this out there. I know I'm rambling and no one's reading this, but I just wanted to get that off my chest. So thank you, thank you, THANK YOU for putting my story on alerts or on one (or both) of your favorites or reviewing; all of that really gets me going. After this chapter, the story at Hogwarts really starts, and that's when things start to get fun and I already have things to work with (i.e. Hogwarts, the Marauders) that I don't have to completely make up, so I'm excited. Well, consider this a belated Fourth of July gift. Oh, and Happy (belated) 4th of July to any of my fellow Americans! "God bless the USA," she whispered as she posted twelve thousand more words of a story that only becomes cool when the characters get to England._

**_I DON'T OWN THE MARAUDERS. I KNOW I FORGOT TO SAY THAT THE LAST TIME, BUT HONESTLY, I'M NOT J. K. ROWLING._**

ϟ

**CHAPTER FOUR: THIS IS IT**

This is it. They were about to leave for Hogwarts. They were about to go to a Wizarding boarding school in a new country that accepted _boys_.

"Kill me," muttered Julie as she sat on the empty trunk in front of her purple bed, the white dashboard behind it looking as shiny and clean as ever.

Julie had felt like puking for days now, and as Antares yelled up the stairs, "_Five minutes, Julie!_", she felt as though she were being put to a death sentence in five minutes, not shipped off to school. Julie didn't like the Salem Witches, but she tried very hard and managed with high grades. She wasn't obsessed with her grades like some of the girls at her old school. Julie wasn't planning to be an Auror or a Healer or any job that required years of school after Hogwarts, so the stress of needing extra high N.E.W.T.s or O.W.L.s didn't really affect her.

_After Hogwarts…_

Julie sighed as she stood up and wrenched her hand out of her hair. She couldn't wait for the day she was out of Hogwarts.

She sprinted down the stairs. "Morning, Antares…Matilda, good morning."

"Good morning, love. Have a nice sleep?" asked Matilda sweetly as she placed a plate of eggs, bacon, and pancakes in front of Julie.

"Yes, ma'am," replied Julie, instantly grabbing the syrup and pouring some all over her pancakes.

Antares walked up to the dining table and sat next to Julie. "Nervous?"

Julie looked up at him and replied with a full mouth, "I think I'm going to faint."

Antares nodded wisely and looked at her. "Would you like to know anything? Rigel had told me Hailey didn't even know about the Houses—"

"—That's because she never reads anything historical, educational, instructive…basically anything she considers _boring_." Julie rolled her eyes. "But I know about the Houses, I've read about the Grand and Great Hall, Professor Dumbledore, the ghosts, the Sorting Hat, Hogsmeade…all that good stuff." Julie stuffed her mouth with more food. "It's very interesting. Much more interesting than the Salem Witches' Institute. But I guess after being there for so many years, anything new is bound to look more exciting and fresh, isn't it?"

Matilda smiled at Julie in return, and Antares seemed to find it necessary to continue talking. "I guess…er – Julie, there's something you need to know about the Houses."

"What about them?" asked Julie as she cleaned her plate of any crumbs left behind.

"Well, there's lots of talk about some Houses, lots of favoritism…and you need to know that whatever House you get in, you'll be fine. Don't listen to rumors."

Julie looked up, her brows furrowed and her mouth frowning. "What _rumors_?"

Antares sighed sadly. "Like how Gryffindor is the only House worth anything. Like how Hufflepuff is only for losers and left-overs. How Ravenclaw is only for geeks or people that aren't good at anything but tests. And lastly, how every student in Slytherin will end up a Dark Wizard…believe me, Julie, none of those things are true."

Julie looked him in the eye. "What house were you in?" she asked, her voice a pitch higher, already a hunch forming in her brain.

Antares sighed, put his hands in his pockets, and looked down at the floor.

"I was in Slytherin."

Julie's mouth dropped. "_You _were in _Slytherin_!"

"That's the kind of prejudice I'm trying to warn you about!" explained Antares, slightly banging his fist on the table to try broadening his point. "They're so many narrow-minded people out there. Are nine out of ten Slytherins bad wizards? Yeah, and I know that from personal experience." He frowned at the memory. "So many people say that Hogwarts sorts too early, and I'm damn sure they're right. The Gryffindors in _my _year?" He made a 'thumbs-down' gesture. "Most nervous and easily-terrified gits I ever knew. But you personally won't have any trouble with that, Julie, since you're older."

Julie's eyes started to twitch. "Oh – er – ok, thanks. So basically you're telling me not to judge others or myself on what House I'm in?" As Antares had gone on his rant about prejudice, Julie couldn't help but feel guilty about her initial reaction.

"_Exactly!_" cried Antares with a half-smile.

Matilda nearly grabbed Julie out of her seat. "Let's make a last-minute check of your things." Julie had the impression, however, that Matilda had no intention of looking around Julie's room for forgotten books.

As they entered the second landing, Matilda looked at Julie. "I'm sorry. My husband's endured so much ridicule from being in Slytherin that sometimes he just gets a little too defensive of himself and others."

Julie smiled kindly. "Oh, it's alright. And I'm sorry if I seemed a little shocked. I had just read…"

"You read pretty much correctly," Matilda said, leaning against the wall. "Even Antares at one point was interested in the Dark Arts. Not to the point of wanting to perform it himself or be a part of it…no, he never quite got that far…but he got mighty close. I doubt that would've happened if he hadn't been in Slytherin. But we all have life lessons to learn some way or another, don't we?"

Julie nodded her head, her temple starting to hurt from fear, worry, and confusion. "Yes ma'am, I guess we do."

Matilda smiled as she looked down at her watch. "Oh, dear! We don't want you to be late!" She grabbed a jacket off the handle of Julie's door and tossed it to her. "Here, it's a bit chilly outside, and I don't want you getting cold."

Julie smiled sweetly as she put the jacket on, all the while following Matilda down the stairs. As they got to the bottom floor, Julie saw that Antares had in his left hand Julie's suitcase, and in his right her broom. "You'll have to get Keith yourself," said Antares as he nodded towards Julie's owl of three years.

"Oh, that's alright. Thanks," replied Julie, walking over to Keith's cage and picking it up.

Matilda walked across the room to the wall behind the small platform the grass would fall on top of, and pushed a blue button. Suddenly light was pouring in the room from a sudden hole created in the ceiling; the grass was lowering. Matilda, Antares, and Julie all climbed on top of the plate once it came down, their luggage clinging to their hands, and dug their feet into the grass as it started to lift itself up towards the breezy autumn day.

Julie was so nervous she was shaking. This time last week, she had been in Diagon Alley, excitingly looking around at all the shops. Now she was being brought to the Portkey that met exactly in-between the Clywalker's and Fray's that would lead them to Hogwarts. Usually no such transportation was allowed or even possible at Hogwarts, but the school's Headmaster, Albus Dumbledore, had temporarily took down some of the repellant charms and hexes he had put on the wizarding school and connected one Portkey to inside the castle. The Headmaster apparently didn't want there to be any awkward stares or questions given to Hailey and Julie on the way to Hogwarts; he thankfully wanted them to feel comfortable. The Portkey was only supposed to be used for Hailey and Julie.

Julie felt as though she were walking a death sentence, having to already leave a family that she had only just met. Hailey almost felt the same way.

ϟ

"Books?"

"Check."

"Cate?"

"Uncle _Rigel_…"

"Come on now Hailey, I just want to make sure you aren't leaving anything behind—"

"I'm _not_!" pitched Hailey, allowing Cate to look up at her in confusion from her cage. "You're starting to act like grandmum…" she murmured.

"Come on, Hailey—" Rigel rolled his eyes and laughed. "—I just don't want you arriving at Hogwarts and realizing you forgot something. It wouldn't make the best first impression, and I think that a positive demeanor is something you need to show off." He sighed, and walked a little closer towards her.

Aquila was pacing the room, every so often glancing at her watch. Rigel and Hailey stood in the corner of the living room that held Hailey's trunk, cage, and her old guitar-looking case that held the broom that her dad had sent her for Christmas two years before. Hailey was nervous, though was trying as hard as she could to conceal it. Uncle Rigel, however, was not helping.

"You're going to be fine, Hailey," said Rigel, pulling her into a loose hug. "Your dad would be _so_ proud of you." He smiled down at Hailey, let go of the hug, and walked over to Aquila to inquire the time.

As soon as he walked away, Hailey murmured, "Yeah, well if he was so proud of me, why isn't he here?" She had never understood it.

Hailey Titington's father, Stephen, was a half-blood wizard. Stephen was an Auror, but one in a very high-class and enigmatic position. He was required to take a Muggle job and watch the non-magical folk, and make sure no Dark Wizards tried harming them. It was a risky and dangerous position to be trying to protect others from the other side of Muggle war _and _Dark Wizards, otherwise known as Death Eaters. It was a very well-paying job though, and one that needed to be fulfilled, so Stephen, being the brave man he was, took it. His wife, Cate, enrolled with him, because she was scared for his and others safety. This left Hailey alone to live with her grandmother, bottling up unshed tears and whispering words that should have been screamed.

"Oh gosh, it's time to go," announced Rigel anxiously. He picked up Hailey's broom while Hailey picked up her trunk, and Aquila grabbed Cate's cage. Rigel, being in the lead, opened the door for them. The exit looked as fuzzy and indistinct as ever, and they all walked through it. The feeling of being pushed through jello and fighting to get out overcame Hailey until they jumped out onto the sidewalk, walking slowly at first to regain steadiness.

The Portkey was going to be a chewed up, battered softball lying near the corner of Elias Road and Ocert Drive, making the distance from the Clywalker's and the Fray's houses almost identical.

"Fine day, isn't it?" asked Aquila smoothly as the wind blew through her silver-blonde hair.

Rigel looked down at Hailey worryingly. "You alright?"

Hailey simply nodded. "Where exactly does it take me? The Portkey, I mean."

"Hogwarts, I'd expect," replied Rigel with a sly grin.

"You git," said Hailey, bumping playfully into him, "I mean _where _in Hogwarts is it going to take me?"

Aquila looked airily at her and spoke softly, "I'd expect, since Dumbledore said he took enchantments off the school, you'll arrive somewhere within the castle. Maybe a classroom or office…I suspect they want to explain all about the school and classes, even the Sorting, hours before the rest of the school arrives."

Hailey nodded agreeably as Antares, Matilda, and Julie rounded the corner into Rigel, Aquila, and Hailey's sight.

Julie quickly pushed through the adult's handshakes and acknowledgements and walked towards Hailey. They were on the part of the sidewalk closest to the run-down, unused street.

"This is it," said Julie quickly and in a high-pitched voice most unlike herself. She kept shifting her feet back and forth and running her fingers through her hair, things Julie would do when she got nervous.

"Calm down, Julie," said Hailey kindly, "you have nothing to worry about." Seeing Julie's eyes widen and her arms start to rise in front of her, Hailey quickly added in a hushed tone, "Though I must admit, I'm pretty anxious myself."

Julie nodded reasonably. "Of course you are!" she said, trying to keep her tone low and out of the adults' small chit-chat. "But – what House do you think we'll be Sorted into?"

Hailey shook her head. "I don't know…I kinda forgot which one's which. Let me think…okay, so we're both loyal, right? So it could be that Pufflehuff…"

"Hufflepuff," corrected Julie irritably. "And I know we shouldn't be judging Houses since we've never even been to the school, but I hear that it isn't the most popular one." Julie sighed. "You could be in Gryffindor."

Hailey looked Julie in the face. "Why? Which one's that?"

Julie rolled her eyes. "The one that suits the brave. You're daring!" she convinced.

"Not really," admitted Hailey.

Julie sighed. "The Sorting Hat's gonna have a rough time having to pick out our houses."

"Yeah," echoed Hailey.

"Oh wow, it's almost time! Hailey, Julie, come over here!" said Matilda impatiently.

Julie and Hailey obeyed her very slowly, their things now lined around an old, dirty, lime green softball. Hailey looked up at Uncle Rigel in disgust, who in turn laughed.

"Well, this is it," said Antares to Julie, who smiled at him.

"Goodbye," said Julie quietly as she quickly hugged both Antares and Matilda. Matilda seemed to be on the verge of tears, which may have been simply caused by her overactive emotions and her ability to become easily attached to people.

Hailey hugged Aquila softly, reassuring her 'Aunt' that she'd be alright. Hailey then turned to Uncle Rigel, who smiled down at her.

"Have fun, kiddo," said Rigel affectionately as he pulled Hailey into a bone-crushing hug and ruffled her hair. "Remember to write to us. An old man like me can get very lonely, you know."

Hailey smiled as she let go, though was on the verge of tears. "I'll miss you, Uncle Rigel," she said softly, looking down at the ground.

Rigel caressed her cheek in a very fatherly manner as he replied quietly, "I already do."

Suddenly, the ball lying on the ground started jumping up and down like a hyper-active toddler, not letting itself sit still.

"You've got to hurry," said Antares quickly as he handed Julie all of her things. "Make sure you have a grip on all of this, but don't worry about a firm hold on that," he gestured to the ball. "Simply touch it and you'll get there safely."

Julie and Hailey tried very hard to get a firm grip or hold on all of their things. When they finally did, they both leaned over their shoulders and said their last goodbyes. They then turned to eachother and smiled.

"Ready to change our lives?" Hailey asked mischievously.

Julie suppressed something along the lines of a giggle, and replied, "I sure am."

They both slowly reached out their hands toward the now cowering ball, making sure neither's arm reached out farther or quicker than the other. Every inch their fingers got closer to the Portkey, both their minds raced quicker and faster, and their heart beats exhilarated so fast that all the thumps felt like a simultaneous one that never ceased. Julie's palm sweated both from the weight of everything she was carrying and the nervousness she was feeling. Hailey's eyes started watering as she tried not to look back at Uncle Rigel and addressed the scary realization that she wasn't going to see him until Christmas, if even then.

Their index fingers lightly brushed the softball simultaneously, and with a feeling as though they were swooped up into the air, they vanished.

It felt as though some of their insides were being squeezed together while other parts were being stretched. They were twirling around in a fast-spinning circle as though they were on some Muggle roller coaster. Unlike entering the Fray's home, it felt almost as though you were too free, yet in a small space, and being yanked, pulled and tugged all the while. Julie felt dizzy and a small headache forming in her head; Hailey thought it was fun even though she had the sneaking suspicion this could make her sick. Suddenly, it all stopped and both girls crashed onto a wooden floor, their bags surrounding them, and their bodies now aching from a rough landing.

"I see you've made it," said a soft, calm, and aged voice.

Hailey and Julie slowly got up, rubbed their aching arms, and saw a tall, skinny old man standing in front of them, not acting at all troubled or surprised that two teenage girls had suddenly appeared in what seemed to be his office.

Both girls nodded in return. Julie tried to crack a kind smile, but not knowing if it was wise to do so, turned it into a gulp. She hadn't expected to come into contact with a person this quick; however, what else would have happened? Julie had just had a false hope of stalling any socializing.

"I'm so dreadfully sorry, I probably should introduce myself," said the man. He was wearing an orange and black cloak that looked worn yet decent, and had stunning silver hair. It passed all the way down to his waist, and his beard bearing the same color was not at all far behind it.

"My name is Albus Dumbledore, and I am the Headmaster here at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry." He held out his arms and said jovially, "Welcome!"

Julie smiled. She saw how the old man's pretty, light blue, knowing eyes danced with joy as he smiled. At the foot of his nose stood half-moon spectacles, which seemed to complete the package of the old Professor.

Hailey would have smiled too if it weren't for her eyes…or was it her head? Either way, as soon as the man said his name and smiled, and as soon as Hailey really absorbed the room in which she was standing, something deep within the confines of her brain felt as though it should have been oozing itself out. It's how she supposed icing felt when being squeezed out of a container onto a cake. But for some reason, information that layered coats around it just wouldn't let the information set free, which resolved Hailey to simply letting the thoughts appear in her eyes as a last minute resort…

_Thoughts appear in my eyes? _ thought Hailey. _I've gone mad! _Then she remembered they had just been transported to a school across the country by Portkey, so convinced herself that that was the only reason for her eyes and head to feel even weirder than it had the week before. Hailey closed her eyes from the pain, and for a maybe a millisecond, all she saw was darkness. The hurting didn't go away until her eyes seemed to have formed images of its own. Hailey seemed to be looking from the outside of an odd scene where her and Julie were sitting in two chairs located in the same office she had just landed in, though the man that had been standing in front of them wasn't standing at all. Hailey saw a moving portrait of the man on a wall, only he was silent and looking down at her and Julie. They must have been in this office before. And with that thought in mind, Hailey's brain gave an almighty lurch, causing Hailey to bump into Cate's cage and fall to the ground.

Dumbledore walked over to Hailey and held out a hand. "I take it that you've never traveled by Portkey before?" he asked, his voice caring and his eyes anxious as he helped Hailey off the ground.

Hailey shook her head as she stood up once again, and straightened Cate's, her owl's, cage. "Thank you, Professor. And yes, I have actually have traveled by Portkey before with my grandmum."

Dumbledore looked at her and tilted his head slightly, and muttered, "No matter…" He turned his back on the girls, walked towards his desk, and called to them, "Come!"

Julie and Hailey slowly took seats in front of Dumbledore's desk. Hailey seemed to be noticing the large variety of feather-quills put in what resembled a Muggle pencil-holder. There were piles of parchment divided evenly among both sides of his desk, though in the middle lay two pieces pampered with crinkles. Dumbledore looked down and pushed his glasses farther up his nose, and read one.

"You're Hailey Marie Titington, correct?" asked Dumbledore, pointing an old, withering hand at the brunette.

"Yes, sir," she replied uneasily. She had not forgotten the thought…or image…that she had just had the unpleasant surprise of seeing. Hailey also knew that her and Julie's bags must still be spread out unevenly at the door of Professor Dumbledore's office, and didn't know if they were safe standing near a doorway. Also, the nerving hit of reality seemed to hit both her and Julie at once; they had arrived at Hogwarts, the place where they would be attending school for the next two years. _This is it_, they both thought excitedly.

"Birthday?" asked Dumbledore, his eyes twinkling while looking down at the parchment, though Hailey had the undeniable feeling that he could see her anyways.

"My birthday? Why?" asked Hailey, somewhat disappointed that her arrival had not been welcomed in streamers and balloons at the sheer rareness of her transfer. Hailey would never admit it, but she had been hoping for tons of excitement over her from the moment she arrived. She was also wondering why the man was asking for her birthday – didn't they already get that information when her parents sent the school a letter asking for her acceptance?

Dumbledore smiled knowingly and finally met Hailey's gaze. "This is for your mere protection; we couldn't ensure that the Portkey didn't fall into the wrong hands. Why, with a bit of Polyjuice Potion, someone could have easily pretended to be Hailey and Julie, grabbed the Portkey, and left without hardly any trace of their existence."

"Oh – right," said Hailey, dazed by the calmness and knowing tone in her Headmaster's voice. "November 17th, and my parents' names are Stephen and Cate. Dad's an Auror on a top-secret case, and Mom's by his side, even though she can't perform any magic if her life depended on it…" Hailey's voice turned bitter. She met Dumbledore's gaze and relaxed a bit. "I'm staying with Uncle – er – Rigel and Aquila Fray. Anything else you need to know?"

"Actually, yes there is," replied Dumbledore, and continued, "Where did you get that bird?"

Hailey shifted nervously in her seat. "What bird?" She then remembered how Uncle Rigel had told her to make a good first impression, so cleared her throat and said louder and more polite, "Which bird, sir?"

Dumbledore chuckled. He pointed to Cate. "That one, I'm assuming, is yours?"

Hailey glanced over to where Dumbledore was pointing, and looked back at him incredulously. "The shop down in Diagon Alley...How could you tell that owl was mine?"

"Just an old man's lucky guess," Dumbledore sighed. He then shifted his gaze towards Julie.

"July Dianne Logan?"

"If you don't mind Professor, I prefer the name Julie…sir," Julie replied, stuttering. Her cheeks turned a bright red at being addressed, though she quickly added, "That is, if it's alright with you. I've just gone by that name my whole life."

Dumbledore nodded while smiling, for the first time showing his teeth, and glancing over his glasses. "Of course, Julie. I'm guessing your birthday is in July?"

Julie shifted uncomfortably as a hint of embarrassment flooded her multi-colored eyes, now looking a dark, yet pretty, shade of green. "I – er – no, Professor. It's the month my parents got married. They, uhm…I guess they just wanted to link me with one of the happiest days of their life, that way it made the thought of me sort of—" Julie gulped shyly. "—happy, I suppose." She paused, then added, "It's December 3rd."

Dumbledore nodded, peering at Julie interestingly, as though she were something mildly interesting in a museum.

"Well, I have a theory that you two are very anxious about what will happen today…let me try to explain all of this as thoroughly as possible, and if either of you have questions, you can kindly interrupt me and inquire about anything you might not understand." Julie nodded, trying to smile, and Hailey's eyes gleamed with excitement.

"Let me begin by saying that no matter which House you are sorted into, I firmly believe you will be welcomed with open arms. The whole point of Houses is to bring people that all excel in the same things together to form a bond. I think it best if your sorting occurred right after the First-Years'. I'll announce to the school who you are and where you are from, and after you are sorted you can go sit at your Houses' table." Dumbledore looked kindly at the girls. "I will make sure our sixth year prefect's in each House save a seat for you. That way they can lead you to your dormitories, introduce you to friends, and make sure you have a pleasant first week here."

Julie took Dumbledore's short pause to address her questions. "Professor, if you don't mind, I have two questions," she admitted sheepishly.

Dumbledore faced Julie once more, his eyes once more darting in her eyes, curious. "Go on, then." His voice was gentle.

Julie cleared her throat. "What exactly is a prefect? I read about them, and I see that they're a lot like the _Witch Watcher _position that was offered to fourth years and above at our old school, but I'd just like to hear a definition from you." She met his gaze, and as his eyes seemed to tell her to carry on, she did. "And – er – this isn't to misjudge your choices sir, but um…" Julie's face turned a dark pink. "Will we sit beside both prefects?" asked Julie in the best possible way she could, though wanting to ask, _We _are _sitting beside the girl prefect, _right_?_

Dumbledore lifted both pieces of crinkled parchment filled with information of Julie and Hailey off the desk and stored them in a drawer.

"A prefect is a student that is picked to stop any mischief or wrong-doing that they might happen to come across while patrolling the castle. They usually achieve high grades and are students that could easily be looked up to as a positive role model for younger and newer students." Dumbledore's sparkling light blue eyes seemed to dance with laughter before continuing, "I think the female prefect would be a wise choice to sit by. Some prefects can have some rather rambunctious friends, and I don't want you to be mixing in with any bad influences_ this _early in the semester—"

"—What are the prefects' names?" asked Hailey, cutting Dumbledore off. Hoping she hadn't sounded rude, she bit her bottom lip as she waited for a response.

Dumbledore considered her before answering, "Jennifer Stevens, Tori Lestrange, Lily Evans, and Sally Suddle."

Hailey decided it best not to ask who belonged to which House, so meekly smiled and sunk back into her chair.

"Any more questions?" Neither Julie nor Hailey said anything, so Dumbledore said, "Excellent." He stood up and walked towards his wooden door. He opened it and held it out for them. "Go outside my office, and you'll find a woman dressed in a—" he considered it for a moment, "—peach cloak today, I believe. She will give you a tour around Hogwarts to help you feel more easy and at home."

Hailey and Julie got up, unnerved by their quick exit and instructive depart. As they made their way towards Dumbledore, Hailey looked around the floor.

"P – Professor!" she exclaimed.

Dumbledore looked at her worryingly. "Yes, dear?"

Hailey looked wide-eyed down at the floor. "Our suitcases are gone!"

Dumbledore whipped around and examined the ground. "So they are," he agreed jovially, a hint of amusement in his voice.

"Where'd they go?" asked Hailey defiantly, ignoring Julie's struggles to grab her elbow and drag her out of their Headmaster's circular office.

Dumbledore merely blinked and said, "Where they should go. Have a nice tour, I think you'll find the decorations lovely. Give Professor McGonagall my regards." He held his hand out invitingly towards the open door, and Julie finally succeeded in pushing Hailey through it.

"Thank you, Professor," said Julie with a quick smile.

"Thank you, Julie," said Dumbledore as he made way to shut the door behind them. "Thank you both, actually, for having enough courage to do this." He sighed and closed the door.

"Enough courage to do what?" asked Hailey, though the pain in her head and her eyes becoming unfocused once more gave Hailey the impression that she already knew.

"Don't know," replied Julie honestly as they made their way down circular stairs before they reached another door, where waiting outside it was a stern woman with a forced smile upon her face.

ϟ

McGonagall showed Hailey and Julie everything. It was fun, intriguing, interesting, and not to mention very informational. Julie made a mental note not to use that adjective in front of Hailey, as she actually seemed to be enjoying the tour of her new school and Julie didn't want her good mood dampened. It could have been five hours or five minutes; all Hailey and Julie knew was that as soon as McGonagall announced the tour was over, there was an almighty lurch as the huge, iron doors hanging in the front of the wizarding school opened.

"Kids 're arrivin'!" screeched a deep, husky voice. Julie and Hailey turned to see the man's face, but were soon being ushered out of the way by Professor McGonagall.

"We don't want you two to cause a scene," she said as she led them into the Great Hall. Four long, huge wooden tables were placed in a room high enough to be a chapel. The top of it was enchanted to look like the sky above; the sky was dark purple in a fading sunset as a few stars were starting to show around the disappearing sun.

McGonagall ushered them behind the table where she had told Hailey and Julie earlier housed the seats in which the staff sat in. Behind the table, however, was a door they had not noticed upon first glance. McGonagall took out her wand, muttered an enchantment, and opened the door.

"Inside, now, go on," Professor McGonagall ordered as Hailey and Julie shuffled their way around her and into the room.

The room was a good size. It had a sofa and armchairs, a fireplace even, and there were portraits on the wall that moved and talked, and seemed very intrigued with Julie and Hailey. Suddenly, they heard McGonagall's voice through the door.

"Girls, you might want to change into your school robes. There's a bathroom around that corner at the end of the room, and you can take turns changing. Take my advice, though, and please do it quickly," she said, sounding croaky and aging.

Hailey looked at Julie. "School robes? Did we even buy school robes?"

Julie shook her head. "No idea. Aquila and Matilda probably bought us some, knowing them."

"How're we supposed to know whose is which?" asked Hailey as she and Julie started walking towards the end of the room.

Julie seemed to daze off for a moment, thinking. "The shorter one's probably yours, and the bigger one's most likely mine."

Hailey nodded. "Yeah, I guess."

In the dim candlelight of the room, Julie's hair looked auburn. Her eyes seemed to show off all the different colors located in it: the dark greenish blue ring that surrounded her iris seemed to glisten while the majority of the color stayed a pretty shade of green, though not vibrant, and around her dark pupils the smallest of dots added brown to her eyes, most of the time not even catching others' attention. She looked as pale as ever, and the few freckles that planted themselves on her skin were never that obvious; sometimes people didn't even notice them.

Hailey walked into the bathroom and pointed up at the two robes that were hanging magically in thin air. "Do you think it's safe to touch these or will I be hexed?"

Julie laughed. "It should be fine," she said reassuringly, "McGonagall said nothing about needing a spell."

Hailey looked at the robes. "This one must be mine," she said, pointing to the shorter one.

"Mhm, I guess," agreed Julie.

Hailey slowly reached out and touched it. As soon as her finger contacted the fabric, it fell down gently to rest on her arm. Hailey looked relieved and pointed to the other one. "Get yours. I'll change first."

"Thanks for the hospitality," Julie joked as she grabbed her robe and watched Hailey shut the door.

"This is very rare, you know," spoke a voice. Julie jerked around anxiously to find a portrait of a man in armor riding on horseback. It seemed to be a sunny, clear day in the picture; the grass shined healthily as though it had just rained two days prior. The man slowed down his horse and jumped off of it as it stopped. Julie wondered why he would do such a thing, as he would still be confined in the portrait, but thought that maybe the man was simply trying to use manners.

"What's rare?" asked Julie as she gripped her robes in her hands tighter. She could suddenly hear the echoes and jumbles of voices and the scrambling of feet as the students of Hogwarts entered the Great Hall. Julie tried swallowing, but found a heated lump in her throat, and decided it best to just let it stay there to recognize her fear.

The man on horseback lifted off his mask. He was rather handsome, around the age of eighteen or nineteen. He smiled. "Hogwarts hasn't allowed a transfer since 1678. Usually the school is very prestigious and selective as to who can come here…only in very important and unique situations do they ever let someone in." He eyed Julie suspiciously. "Why are you here? You must be from America, correct?" the knight asked, detecting Julie's American accent.

Julie tried clearing her throat and zone her ears out of the Great Hall. "My parents…I'm Half-Blood, you see…well, they're in the Army and got deployed here, and erm—" She walked a little closer towards the portrait. "—yes, I am from America." She lowered her voice. "Listen, I know it's rare and that Hailey and I got really lucky by being accepted. And I know everyone wants to know why, but frankly, I _don't_. Sorry," she ended spitefully.

The man nodded and looked at Julie with eyes that almost gleamed of pity. "Yes, well…good luck, then." He then summoned his horse and sat atop it once more, riding across the healthy grass and plain of wheat farther away.

Julie sighed and walked a distance away from the portrait. She looked down to find she was gripping her robe tightly out of pure fear; her knuckles had turned paper white. She loosened the grip and smiled to herself, though her nerves became excited once more as she heard a voice shout out, "_SLYTHERIN!" _to what seemed to be the entire school. Hailey needed to hurry up; it would be their turn soon.

A few minutes and six sortings later (yes, Julie was counting), Hailey finally jumped out of the bathroom.

"Took you long enough!" Julie exclaimed at her friend.

"Sorry," she muttered. "I got distracted." Hailey pushed by her friend who was eyeing her nervously but all the same rushed into the bathroom and locked the door. Hailey went and sat over on the sofa, staring into the fire. She'd just seen something.

Hailey had actually just finished putting on her robes and other dress attire when she felt a throb in the center of her brain that sent waves gliding into cords that connected to her pupils, and when she opened her eyes, she had seen something odd…peculiar, almost. It was only about five seconds long, and Hailey was sure she was just remembering an odd dream. But the thing she saw almost seemed familiar, as though she shouldn't be frightened by it or worried.

_Don't get stressed out by all this_, thought Hailey. _It's probably just anxiety kicking in. We _are _about to get Sorted into a whole different school, so that can cause lots of brain malfunctions._ She knew lying to herself wouldn't work. But she none-the-less tried.

Hailey closed her eyes and thought back to what she had seen.

_Julie was sitting on a coach beside her, laughing while throwing a potato chip in her mouth. There seemed to be company, as there were muffled voices, but Hailey didn't see anyone else. She saw a large, rectangular, black object that had colored pictures moving in the middle, though Hailey couldn't recognize what exactly it was. She was in a house that seemed to belong to a Muggle; there had been no magical objects or pictures around. Hailey was laughing with Julie, the sunlight pouring in from a large window behind them. Her vision seemed to have fogged or smudged around the edges and had a rusted view in the middle. Nothing was too clear. _Then Hailey was back in the bathroom. Just like that. Except the scene seemed to have played in slow motion, so it felt much longer than it actually had been.

Hailey sighed as she looked away from the fire at the knight, who was now clinking his armor as some kind of past-time.

"Shut it, will ya?" asked Hailey.

The knight scowled at her, though it was not seen through his silver mask. He backed away into a small hut that looked like a farm, and slammed the door. Hailey chuckled.

"Much better!" she called out, just loud enough for him to hear her.

"What!" came Julie's strained voice from the bathroom.

"Nothing!" Hailey said, though smiled.

Hailey's nerves were soon upset as she slowly began to acknowledge the Sorting Hat's words. He had just put three people in a row in Gryffindor, surely the next one wouldn't be—

"_GRYFFINDOR!" _cried the voice of the hat.

Hailey rolled her eyes. The thought of a hat sorting them into a house by their strengths and abilities was absolutely ridiculous to her, though she thought it best not to tell Dumbledore or McGonagall that. She suddenly became very nervous at the realization that she was about to be embarrassed in front of the whole school, alone in a pool of strangers. First-years had had time to bond with _someone _while riding the train, but all Hailey had was Julie. And with the obviousness of how different Hailey and Julie were, they both quietly doubted they would be sorted into the same House.

Julie walked out of the bathroom. "Ready!" she said nervously. She seemed somewhat anxious. "It's going to be so embarrassing up there, everyone's going to be staring at us…Oooo, but it's going to be so interesting to meet new people and see the dorms and—"

Hailey cut Julie off by laughing. "You really need to stop blabbering. You'll be fine."

Julie gave her an unconvincing half-smile and plopped onto an armchair. "I think the Sorting's done."

Hailey widened her eyes and whirled around in her chair to see the door still closed. She turned back to Julie. "And you think this because…?"

"Because the Sorting Hat hasn't screamed out a name for about two minutes now, and I think I can hear Dumbledore talking…probably about us."

They both sat in tense silence. Both their pulses and heartbeats seemed to be uneven with the other's, and Julie realized only after a few minutes that she had been holding her breath. She let out a very shaken one. She was trembling.

Hailey was nervous too, though her hands were only silently vibrating as she wringed them together. The thought of stepping out in front of hundreds of strangers, most of whom would find your appearance strange, and having to pretend you didn't hear the mumbles of disapproval and gossip was going to be a hard thing to do. They could both practically hear it in their minds, though Julie thought rationally that Dumbledore could have taken a pause in explaining and the crowd was quietly talking to one another at that very moment.

A few minutes later, though it felt like a few lifetimes later to Hailey and Julie, they heard the door creak open. They both stood up on impulse and walked towards it. McGonagall was holding it open, her face tight and her eyes worried.

"Just step out in front of the table and sit on the stool. You'll be first, Julie, we're going in alphabetical order by your surname." McGonagall saw them both tense up as they stepped out of the room and called gently to them, "Good luck."

They heard the whole room almost vibrating with voices of excitement, shock, and a few sheers of laughter. However, when Julie and Hailey stepped out from behind the staff's table, the whole school went silent. Julie and Hailey saw Dumbledore standing in the middle of the small platform, and beckoned them over to the stool. Julie looked at Hailey, gulped, and walked out in front of her. At least she'd get it over with sooner.

Julie looked out at the sea of unfamiliar faces. She tried to blurrily look over at all of them, so as to not focus on one individual, though failed miserably as her nervousness got the best of her eye sight. She glanced up at Dumbledore who motioned her to sit on the stool with a slight smile. Julie tried to return the grin, only to end up with a grimace. She shook her head slightly as she sat down. _This is it_, she thought. _No way to turn back now. _ Julie felt the Hat brush the top of her head, and, to her surprise, it started saying things to her.

"Intelligent, very intelligent…smart, creative, witty...I can see that. You would fit into Ravenclaw," said the Hat in a voice that made it obvious that he was thinking deeply.

Julie breathed a sigh of relief. Not much criticism went towards Ravenclaw, and mostly good things were said about it. That would be fine. But Julie couldn't help but notice that the Hat had not announced a House to the school yet, so Julie sat anxiously in her seat, starting to blush from the fact that all eyes were on her, and started shuffling her feet against the other.

"…oh, wow, very strange," murmured the hat. "You seem to be a perfect Ravenclaw, yet there is certainly something about you that makes me want to sort you into Slytherin as well..." the Hat added thoughtfully.

Julie's eyes popped and her face whitened. _Not Slytherin, please not Slytherin, I'm not cunning at all. Please. Not Slytherin! _ she screamed in her head, having the odd impression that the Hat would hear her if she did so.

Julie must have been right, as the Hat replied, "Ah, well, alright then. I think you'll be a wise _RAVENCLAW!_"

One of the middle tables seemed to have breathed from a tense holding of breath as they all stood up and cheered. They were all happy and smiling, and Julie was surprised they weren't mean or questioning. Actually, after she stood up from the seat and handed the hat to Dumbledore with a smile of thanks, she was greeted with warm handshakes and compliments. Julie beamed at everyone, her face turning slight pink in happiness, and found a girl standing up and waving her hands at Julie. Julie made her way over towards her and smiled.

"Hello, there," greeted Julie warmly.

"Hello Julie, I'm Jennifer Stevens, one of the Ravenclaw prefects." Jennifer the prefect looked over at the rest of the table, which was sitting down, and offered Julie a seat beside her.

Julie glanced around at the people she was sitting with. Jennifer was slightly pudgy and pale, with muddy dark brown hair pulled up in a sagging ponytail. Her face was wide and pink, her eyes pale blue and welcoming. Across from her sat a dreadlocked, bone-skinny black boy, his dark eyes shining with interest as his gaze met Julie's. Julie then looked over at a tan-skinned, dark haired witch sitting beside him, who seemed lost in thought. She was very pretty with high cheek bones, and when she looked up to smile at Julie, had bright, medium-hued blue eyes that stood out from the rest of her dark complexion. Julie turned to her right to find a cute boy with long, golden, curly hair tied in a small ponytail sitting beside her. Julie blushed, as she had never had many interactions with boys at home. He had dark green eyes that reminded Julie of leaves, as his eyes were all one color, yet could fade from light to dark to light again depending on how the light hit them. He smiled at her. Julie smiled back.

Up on the platform, Hailey was becoming very nervous. Julie had been welcomed with opened arms, and as she had seen the look of relief on Julie's face, Hailey suddenly wished her last name had started with something before 'L'. As the Ravenclaws and other Houses died down, Dumbledore motioned Hailey to walk towards the stool. She did slowly and surely, and glanced over at the Ravenclaw table, trying to find Julie. She reached over to the stool and sat down as comfortably as she could, though slightly shaking and sweating from the nervousness mounting in her brain. Suddenly, she heard the purr of the Sorting Hat's voice as she felt fabric dance across her forehead.

"You are very brave," said the hat. "You have lots of nerve…you would do anything for a friend…very loyal." The hat considered her for a moment. "You could be sorted into Hufflepuff or Gryffindor…"

_The damn hat can't even make up its own mind,_ thought Hailey.

"I can hear you, you know," the hat said.

Hailey stuttered in her head. _Oh…oh wow, I uh – Gryffindor?_

The hat seemed to sigh, and as it breathed out again, simply yelled, "_GRYFFINDOR!_"

A table on the far end of the hall seemed to bounce up, adrenaline rushing through the whole House. They were cheering and clapping, and shoving at eachother's shoulders for a better look at one of the first transfers Hogwarts had had in centuries. Hailey high-fived some people, laughed at others, and found a little more than half-way down the table an astoundingly pretty girl standing up. She had violent red hair, almond-shaped, bright green eyes, pale skin with only a few freckles, a small nose, and full, light pink lips. She looked like a girl from a fashion magazine. Hailey noticed the girl was around her height, and instantly felt at peace.

"Hello!" Hailey greeted the girl jovially.

The girl smiled sweetly. "Hi, I'm Lily Evans. I'm a Gryffindor prefect in sixth year. Want to sit?" She pointed towards a seat.

"Yeah, thanks," said Hailey kindly as she took a seat beside Lily.

"I like your name," Hailey told her.

Lily smiled. "Thank you! I like yours, too." She looked across from her. "Oh, you might want to be introduced," she said. "This is Marlene McKinnons—" Hailey looked at a girl with brown hair that was cut at her shoulders, "—Mary Macdonald, she's Muggleborn, like me—" Lily acknowledged a girl with hair so dark that it looked almost black, hazel eyes and tan skin, though she didn't really look foreign, "—and Alice Prewitt," finished Lily, glancing at a girl with blonde hair and a round face, with brown, warm eyes.

Marlene, Mary, and Alice all gave their nods and polite greetings toward Hailey, who returned them with a smile.

"Are we all in the same year?" asked Hailey interestingly. The others laughed kindheartedly.

"Yes," replied Marlene, "we are. Though I'm not sure if you should be happy to know that – we can be a rough bunch to handle sometimes," she joked, her short, brown hair bobbing up and down above her shoulders.

Alice smiled, her brown eyes revealing innocence. "We're all totally crazy. If Lily here wasn't a prefect, we'd be _nuts_," she said dramatically.

"You're underestimating her, Alice. If Lily wasn't here, we'd probably be locked up in our own cells at Saint Mungo's," Mary exaggerated.

Lily grinned and agreed, "I'm pretty sure I'd be locked up with you."

Hailey looked around at the four girls and felt instantly connected, yet in the dark. They were all being humorous and kind towards her; how exactly could she jump into their obvious sister-like relationship?

Suddenly the whole Hall went quiet as Dumbledore stood up to make a speech, one that Hailey, very unwisely, didn't listen to. She was so engrossed in her own thoughts that she barely noticed the old Professor sit back down, and was only zapped fully back into reality when food appeared on the table and the Hall began merrily chatting once more.

"So what advice do you want, Hailey?" asked Mary, her hazel eyes peering over the food she was about to shove in her mouth. "We can help you with your schedule,_ ooo_, we could even see that you get unpacked! By the way, Salem Witches' is an all-girls' school, right?"

Hailey nodded as she swallowed the food that she had been scuffling down. "Yeah, it is. I had a tour of the school earlier, but um—" she looked uncomfortably around at the others.

"What is it?" asked Lily after a few seconds' silence.

"It's a stupid thing to ask," Hailey started, but Marlene cut the silence with a giddy voice—

"_Boys! _She wants to know about boys!" Marlene grinned almost devilishly and cleared, "I am the ultimate boy expert here at Hogwarts."

Lily suppressed an exasperated groan, Alice was giggling, and Mary seemed on the borderline of entertained and uninterested.

Hailey laughed crazily. "Yes, _boys!_ Please, I have barely any experience, and the thought of going to school with them is quite frightening," she admitted.

As Marlene began to speak, Lily cut her off. "First off, Hailey," Lily warned, "This is all just Marlene's fantasy girl opinion—" Marlene gave a muffled, _Hey! _but was given no acknowledgment, "—and you should not take this too close to heart. There are some things she'll say about guys that she'll say solely for their looks, and sadly, most of the good-looking guys around here are arrogant, bullying, big-headed prats—"

"—Just because Potter is the only one you've let yourself come into much contact with," contradicted Mary, her hazel eyes flashing with playfulness, "doesn't mean that every other handsome guy around here is like him."

Lily snarled. "Potter isn't handsome."

Alice grinned. "You're kidding."

Hailey looked around at all of them, puzzled. "Potter?"

Marlene grinned excitedly. "Ah, yes…Potter. One of the many boys you will meet here at this lovely school of Hogwarts, where—"

"—Get to the point! What did Potter do to Lily?" Hailey asked interestingly.

Alice sighed peacefully. "It isn't what he didn't do, but what he's been trying to do for ages."

"And what is that?" asked Hailey, her arms now flinging in front of her and her dark blue eyes widening in impatience.

Lily turned to Hailey. "He just asks me out in a rude way on, basically, a daily basis." She paused. "Hailey, James Potter is a big-headed, bullying, know-it-all, filthy toe rag. Anyone who says otherwise must be under the Imperius Curse or something…" Lily slowly faded out into muttered whispers under her breath, as though she'd come up with so many ill names for James Potter that naming them all in one night might ruin all the thought she'd put into them.

Marlene rolled her eyes. "I'm not denying, Hailey," Marlene said as she tried to direct Hailey's attention from Lily, "that James Potter isn't a, oh wow, I can't even think of an adjective, I wonder if Lily can…"

They all burst out laughing, even Lily, who was now red-faced, though smiling and giggling. They slowly steered away from the subject of boys, but Hailey didn't seem to notice or care. She couldn't have been sitting at her new House table for ten minutes yet was having the time of her life, talking with the girls as though she'd known them her whole life. She still wished she had gotten sorted before Julie so that she could have met these girls earlier; if only it hadn't been alphabetical. Already, Hailey Titington was forgetting that Julie Logan even existed.

ϟ

Julie watched as Hailey made her way to the Gryffindor table with an outburst of applause and welcome. Julie couldn't help but notice how Slytherin, one of the tables nearest them, seemed to be rolling their eyes and scowling, and the Hufflepuff's on the far side of the room seemed to be shrugging their shoulders in a light-hearted way, as though saying, "We knew we weren't going to get one anyways." Julie's nervous glancing around the room must have been obvious, as the others were glancing at eachother with confusion.

Jennifer looked at Julie hesitantly. "So, Julie, how did you get here?"

Julie looked back up at Jennifer. "What?"

Jennifer glanced over at the black man, who shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly, and turned back to Julie. "How did you – er – get here? You didn't come by Platform 9¾, did you?" Jennifer the prefect asked.

Julie wasn't sure what to say, so she ended up answering, "No, we didn't. But I'm not really sure if Dumbledore would want us saying…I'm sorry," she added fervently.

Julie suddenly heard the cute, tan, dirty blonde boy chuckle softly. She turned to him, only to have him say, "We're just trying to be friendly, no need for apologies." He smiled benevolently. "I'm Cyle Moriatti. I'm a prefect too, though I know they said for you to only sit beside Jennifer…" He rolled his eyes. "You're going to have to get used to me...that is, if you hang out with any of us." Cyle motioned at Jennifer, her high ponytail laying flat in midair, the black boy who was smiling as though something funny had just happened, and the very pretty tan girl, who nodded upon address.

"I'm Ryan Rozair," said the dreadlocked wizard, both his hands now leaning on the edge of the table comfortably.

Julie's eyes widened. "Rozair? As in…the Minister of Magic?"

Ryan laughed mirthlessly. "Sadly, you are correct. Though you must know that I have no intention to living up to such foolishness."

"Ryan believes that the Ministry is not a reliable source anymore," said the pretty witch. "I'm Rovelta Robins, by the way."

Julie nodded. "Oh, ok. Nice to meet you, all of you," she looked at Cyle, Ryan, Jennifer, and Rovelta pleasantly. "But why exactly do you believe the Ministry isn't a trustworthy alliance?" Julie asked, targeting the question mostly towards Ryan.

Ryan laughed. "It's pretty obvious to anyone with close ties to the Ministry. That Dark Wizard that's starting to rise to power—"

"Lord Voldemort, right?" asked Cyle conversationally.

Jennifer looked wide-eyed at Cyle while Rovelta looked shocked but not near as revolted as Jennifer did. Julie watched these reactions while keeping a tranquil face.

Ryan looked at Jennifer as though she were mental and turned back towards Cyle, "Yeah, Lord—"

"—Don't say his name!" screeched Jennifer, gathering a few looks from students around her. Jennifer's cheeks flushed pink for a second, though faded as soon as she started talking again. "They're saying it's bewitched, saying the name…and besides, I don't know why you'd want to talk about him. The things he's done…he's building up an Army, and he has lots of supporters. You know what all You-Know-Who could do with an Army!"

Rovelta giggled sarcastically. "We're calling him You-Know-Who now? You've got to be kidding."

Cyle set down food on his plate. "Actually, Jennifer has a point. No, I don't agree with it," said Cyle refutably as Rovelta started to protest, "but lots of wizards have stopped using his name in fear of a consequence."

"My point exactly," continued Ryan. "The Ministry is apparently scared of Voldemort and his supporters—" There was a hiss heard from Jennifer, "—overtaking and threatening the Ministry and its workers. They're scared to do anything major against him. So, I'm pretty sure that by the time we're out of Hogwarts either my dad will be kicked out of the Ministry, Voldemort will have taken over, or both."

Jennifer seemed crumpled. "P – please, Ryan, _call him You-Know-Who! _Please, for me!"

Ryan rolled his eyes and mumbled something incoherent.

Julie couldn't help but wonder, after hearing their intellectual conversation and seeing how easily each person's personality bounced off one another, _How will I ever manage to fit in with these people?_

ϟ

When the last of their food was cleared away magically from the table, Dumbledore's wish of a good night's rest still ringing in their ears, Hailey jumped up from her seat at the table.

"Hailey, you might want to pay attention on the way to the common room to get used to making your way around here," Lily suggested as she turned around to the figure following her out of the Great Hall.

Hailey nodded. "Yeah, thanks for showing me around," she grinned. Marlene's taller figure approached them at the oak doors, followed quickly by Alice's blonde hair, and Mary yelled, "Wait up!" as she ambushed into them.

"You were going to leave me!" she mockingly accused them. Hailey laughed.

They walked through the doors into the Grand Hall, where there were staircases and passageways leading off to just about everywhere. Hailey was waiting for her group to walk up the staircase that McGonagall had shown her that afternoon, but suddenly realized they had stopped in their tracks. Hailey found out why they had stopped as she shipped her gaze down the same target as the rest of her new friends.

Near the foot of the staircase, Hailey saw a tall boy with his back towards them arguing with an old man Hailey had seen sneaking through the corridors when she was with Professor McGonagall. He was the caretaker…Mr. Filch! But he didn't look the same…suddenly, Hailey felt herself walking forward with the rest of the group, and their conversation became clear.

"Pimples for Prats! What a merry joke, Potter, look at the enthusiasm I've sketched on my face!" said Mr. Filch in a croaky voice, obviously being sarcastic. He seemed very mean, with pimples now erupting all over his face, though the boy seemed to be having the time of his life, even though his face was still barely visible.

"I know, I haven't seen you this happy in years!" the boy said back, merrily. Hailey couldn't help but suppress a giggle, though stopped it as Lily's death stare became discernible.

"Why you cheeky little—"

"Mr. Filch?" interrupted Lily importantly.

The man looked up at Lily, and though displeasure was still seen in his face, his eyes seemed to lighten the tiniest bit. He said, "I'm sort of busy at the moment, Ms. Evans."

Hailey almost felt like she was being shocked; the boy's head whipped around so fast you could have sworn he was using magic. His hand that had been flying in the air or resting by his side was now tangling up his already messy hair. Hailey got a good look at Potter, vaguely remembering how Lily had described him.

James Potter was handsome. He had toned skin and muscles, his shirt was sticking out in all the right places and his tie was loosened just enough to look cool but not lazy. He wore glasses, yet for some reason it didn't seem to make his appearance less charming; in fact, it almost helped it. His eyes looked hazel to Hailey, but she couldn't really tell at the moment. His messy hair was a radiant black. He had an extremely handsome and defined jawline that corresponded well with his lean, yet muscular, figure. Hailey felt little butterflies swirl around in her stomach and a lump reach her throat as his gaze met hers. Just as quickly, however, he looked away and caught sight of Lily standing beside her.

"Evans…" he drifted, his eyes now enlarging, though he made his posture even more impressive and looked all the more handsome while doing so. He threw his hands in his pockets and made his way to walk forward, though Filch grabbed him by the waist.

"Potter, you go up to your dormitory right now, both you and Black!" screeched Mr. Filch.

James looked disheveled as his gaze found its way back to Filch, though his hazel eyes recklessly kept dancing back to Lily's flaming green ones, almost shining of anger. "What makes you think Sirius has anything to do with this!"

Mr. Filch laughed in an insane way that almost caused Hailey to run away. "You've got to be kidding!" He let go of James, though quickly turned back and said, "I'll make sure to arrange a detention for both of you troublemakers. I think you've made a record. I don't think anyone's ever lost twenty points for their House before the first day of classes even began."

James gaped at him. "Mr. – Mr. Filch, come on…"

But Mr. Filch merely glared at him and walked away.

As James glared back at the old man's retreating body, he turned back to Lily and walked towards her. "So, Lily…"

As James walked forward, Hailey couldn't help but tense up. He was tall, handsome, muscular, and a trouble-maker. And that messy hair didn't help restrain Hailey from almost gaping at his fantastically good looks. How could Lily hate _him_? Maybe it just came from the fact that Hailey didn't see many boys where she grew up, but James Potter didn't seem like the type of person you'd turn down on a daily basis.

"Come on out from hiding, Black!" Lily yelled deviously.

Hailey suddenly got zapped into reality. _Who is Black? _ Hailey looked over at the others.

Marlene was pursing her lips and running her fingers over her hair. Alice was blushing lightly, though the rest of her facial features seemed normal; Mary's eyes seemed to have lit up with excitement over the last few minutes and her mouth attempted to curve into a smile, though Hailey saw her resist the attempt.

_Seriously, why are they suddenly now getting all excited? It's not like—_ but her thoughts got interrupted.

Hailey watched Black stepping out from behind a pillar, and suddenly the world became very quiet, and Hailey forgot all about James Potter's presence, as it no longer seemed to matter. Hailey's eyes suddenly seemed like a video camera that couldn't pan, and could only focus on one thing: Black. He was even taller than James, tanner, even more muscular, and if you had thought James Potter was good-looking, Sirius Black would make you weak at the knees. His hair too was black, though it was longer, straighter, and much more graceful than James'. It fell in layers around his face in an almost angelic way. He put his head down, and Hailey saw him try to suppress a chuckle, which was very endearing; Hailey was caught in between wanting to laugh with him and drool in his presence. Hailey watched Black step forward, unaware if she was blushing or not, but didn't have enough sense in her at the time to really notice or care.

"SIRIUS! HOW COULD YOU! WE SHOULD BE WELCOMING OUR NEW HOUSE MEMBER AND BEING HAPPY AND WELCOMING, AND ALL YOU AND POTTER HERE DO IS GO AND STICK SOME ROTTEN TRICK OF YOURS IN FILCH'S POCKET! YOU TWO ARE SOME OF THE MOST IRRESPONSIBLE, GOOD-FOR-NOTHING, ANNOYING, ILL EXCUSES FOR WIZARDS THAT I'VE EVER KNOWN!" screeched Lily in the now almost deserted Grand Hall.

James clutched his hand to his heart and widened his eyes as though he'd just been given a huge compliment.

Sirius' mouth gaped open. "Really, Lily! You think _that _fondly of us?" he looked at James in obviously fake excitement. "You may have a shot with her after all, mate!"

Lily pushed past them both. "You two are unbelievable."

Hailey made way to follow Lily, Marlene, Mary and Alice, however, a set of arms found its way around her and Hailey found herself lost in a pair of dazzling hazel eyes.

"Where do you think you're going?" asked James playfully, his sense of guard down now that Lily had left.

Hailey was about to answer, trying desperately to avoid Sirius Black's eyes piercing into her skin, but James was suddenly wrenched from her by Lily.

"JAMES, IF YOU TOUCH HER—"

"Calm down, Evans," James replied coolly, "I was simply trying to give the newest member of our year a proper welcome."

Lily glared at him. "Right." She pinched Hailey's elbow and pulled her over to the stairs.

The girls made their way up the stairs in silence until James and Sirius caught up with them. Hailey began to wonder what kept them so long, but realized that she probably didn't want to know. As soon as she felt Sirius' body heat radiate onto her skin from a step behind her, almost everything was forgotten, and for a moment, she felt as though she were on top of the world. She suddenly heard James clearing his voice.

"We never had a proper introduction, you know." He held out his hand, and Hailey took it, aware of Lily's scowl from a few steps above. "James Potter. You're Hailey, right?"

Hailey nodded brightly. "Yep. Nice to meet ya, James." She wasn't used to being around boys, much less handsome boys, and being around two at the same time was a quick knock into reality of what life at Hogwarts was going to be like. Hailey could feel her cheeks increasing in heat as she looked over to Black.

Hailey soon realized that trying to climb an old, moving staircase while staring at the most attractive man you've ever met were two things that should never be mixed. She managed to keep her step at pace until they reached a high landing.

Sirius smiled. _Merlin__, is he gorgeous_, thought Hailey. She literally couldn't find one physical fault in him. He rested a hand on her shoulder as they walked through a long corridor, where Hailey could see the portrait of the Fat Lady opening for a small group of kids. She tried to not sweat or stutter as he said, "Sirius Black, pleasure to meet you." He patted her shoulder and then let go, and Hailey could still feel his firm and supporting grip tightened across her skin, and this feeling alone carried her into the common room and up into her dormitory.

Hailey laughed with the girls and chatted a bit before changing and resting on a soft mattress and pillow. She thought back to when she and Julie were being sorted, and how strongly she had wished she could have gone first. While remembering all of this, Hailey drifted to sleep thinking, theoretically, just how wonderful it would have been to have been sorted first with the last name Black.

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_A/N: Asdfghjk;l. I know that's really ungrammatical, but this is my first fanfiction I'm posting about the Marauders EVER, and this is the first time any of them are mentioned. I'm sorry it was so brief, but I promise that next chapter they'll basically be in the whole time, so don't worry. I just don't want things to be too rushed. I'm doing everything for a reason, and anything that seems stupid or like a throw-away thing is honestly important. I know I basically introduced forty characters this chapter, so I hope you like at least one of them and don't completely hate any of them. Oh, and by the way, **CYLE'S NAME IS PRONOUNCED AS KYLE. I JUST THOUGHT IT LOOKED COOL WITH A "C". I REPEAT, CYLE'S NAME IS PRONOUNCED AS KYLE. NOT SIGH-ELLE AS MY FRIEND FIRST THOUGHT. CYLE = KYLE. BUT WITH A "C".** I need to get better at author's notes, I'm sorry, I'm a rambler. If you haven't noticed, my chapters are ten times longer than some people's one-shots, so please forgive me. :P Now, for the song... I think the song "Taking Chances" fit Julie and Hailey really well. They were changing their lives by going to Hogwarts, and they just want to take chances, make friends, meet boys, and live life to the fullest. "Taking Chances" is by Celine Dion by the way, but the Glee version is terrific as well. I really hope you enjoyed this chapter, and please feel free to review! Much love! x ~Kayla [AND YES, THE MARAUDERS ARE IN BASICALLY ALL OF CHAPTER FIVE. JUST SO YOU KNOW.]_


	5. Fooling Filch

_A/N: So many things need to be said right now, but as you're here for the story and not my personal life, I'll keep it short and simple: I've been horribly, annoyingly, worryingly busy. I had to put this story on hiatus for a while to keep me sane, and along with a few other personal events that have occurred recently, I've had no time to write, edit, or do ANYTHING. And as I'm in my teenage years and my brain is maturing and growing day after day, I can't help but look back at some things I've written in chapters previous to this one and think, "God, I'm such an idiot." I've had this chapter written for a while now, but it needed serious editing, and for that to be done I needed serious time. But I also needed a whole lot of inspiration. Recently, I've gotten a few new reviews, which was really nice. I didn't want to let you guys down, so here this is. Please review and point out things I should try and work on, but please do it in a respectful manner. I'm also interested to see who's your favorite character, any plotlines you like or can't wait to develop, and all that fun stuff. :) Also please note that this was edited in a horrible haste. I have no idea when Chapter Six will be uploaded, but until then, enjoy Chapter Five. Also, for those who didn't read it last time, **CYLE'S NAME IS PRONOUNCED 'KYLE'.**_ Please enjoy this chapter and don't be too antsy over grammatical mistakes, because as I said before, this was edited very quickly. I love EVERYONE reading this! My profile has my tumblr accounts and twitter where you can talk to me and ask me stuff. :) ENJOY!

**_GUESS WHO'S NOT J. K. ROWLING AND DOESN'T GET BILLIONS OF DOLLARS OFF THE HARRY POTTER SERIES!? ME. SO NO COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT INTENDED. BLAH._**

_ϟ_

**CHAPTER FIVE: FOOLING FILCH**

Julie Logan woke up from a steady sleep to find herself in the midst of a thick, warm blanket, a firm, yet soft mattress, white pillows that felt like clouds dropped from heaven, and the tip of what seemed to be a carved golden beak over her eyelids. After a few seconds of sinking into consciousness, Julie sat up in her bed and rubbed her face in exhaustion.

She had actually made it to Hogwarts. She had been sorted into Ravenclaw, the house for the clever and creative. These thoughts settled unpleasantly in Julie's stomach as she became more and more awake, because she knew it was her first day of classes and didn't feel prepared at all. Sure, she might have read over most of the main topics in all of her books, and even tried brewing simple Potions at home. But the actual classes, teachers, and work assigned couldn't all be made easier by simply reading a book ahead of time. Julie wondered if the Professors at Hogwarts were strict, kind, patient, or short-tempered, and silently prayed none of them would get mad at her if she did something wrong. Then, accompanied by a yawn, Julie started wondering if she would make any friends.

Julie's gaze slowly made its way out from under her drooping eyelids and over towards the four beds identical to her's: each had a big, snow white cover with a royal blue pattern near the hems, and four pallid, perfectly placed pillows near the head of the bed. The beds laid under an elegant, golden carved beak that erupted through the walls. She then looked to see the beds' occupants.

Jennifer Stevens, the pudgy prefect with dark brown hair, was sleeping peacefully in the bed across from Julie's. She had been very kind and inviting the night before. Jennifer looked as though she needed a few more minutes of rest, and Julie did not wish to disturb her, so she made little to no sound as she slowly sat up in a more comfortable position on her bed.

Julie turned her head to take a look at the bed beside Jennifer's; the room's width became slimmer as Julie's gaze turned to her right, as the dormitory was in the shape of a triangle.

Rovelta Robin's dark, long hair was streamed messily around her face as she breathed deeply, her face naturally beautiful even whilst sleeping. _She must be having a good dream,_ thought Julie, for Rovelta's face had gradually cracked a weak smile.

Across from Rovelta's bed, the covers were torn over, the sheets ruffled, and the pillows askew. Julie became very baffled, though ultimately decided that the occupant had gotten up before the rest of them, though Julie couldn't think of a valid reason why.

Julie sighed and stared out the window on the left side of her bed. After a few moments of peaceful contemplation, she slowly lifted the covers and passed the window on the way to the bathroom at the far end of the dormitory.

Julie saw a stream of yellow light coming from the bathroom. She slowly knocked on the door and peered through the crack, though kept her gaze at the floor.

"Can I come in?" she asked shyly.

A high-pitched, forced voice replied, "Of course, sorry about that. I just didn't want to wake any of you up."

Julie didn't like the voice. It sounded unnatural, fake…basically the voice that half the girls at her old school had deemed their own, however this one had a British accent. Julie suddenly wished she hadn't knocked on the door, but knew that it would have been rude to not come in after asking to. She slowly emerged through the door, then whipped around and cracked it once more so that any of the other girls could come in if they needed to. Julie turned around.

The bathroom was large and elegant. The walls, sinks, and even the floors were made of marble. The wall that you faced upon entrance was completely covered in a spotless, shiny mirror. Below the mirror there were five sinks, and the surface they were engraved upon contained the toothbrushes, toothpaste, hair combs and any other products the girls had brought. On Julie's right, there were three wooden doors. One led to a gigantic shower, one to a lengthy bathtub, and one to a smaller shower where the jets of water came out much faster and more forced; Julie had been told this by Jennifer the prefect, who had additionally told Julie that the smaller shower was originally built in for Quidditch players that had experienced a particularly messy practice or game.

On Julie's left, there were three doors, two of which were bathroom stalls. The middle one led to a small, closet-like space with six shelves, where towels and shampoos and soaps were stored by the house elves. The bathroom, overall, was simply huge and elegant, and had a much more relaxed and hospitable atmosphere than the simple small restrooms and dormitories at the Salem Witches' Academy.

Julie ripped her mind out of her thoughts and back to reality. She was still a bit drowsy from her sleep; Julie had been so scared and stressed the night before that she only allowed Cyle to give her a ten minute tour of the common room and Jennifer to give her a quick glimpse around her dorm before she quickly and easily fell asleep. But as Julie's gaze focused upon the mirror and the other girl standing in front of it, Julie felt as though she was trapped in the middle of a circle full of things she didn't want to face.

The girl had long, strawberry blonde hair that cascaded into ripples of wavy, silky strands. Her skin was tan, and she was so thin that Julie was sure it was unhealthy, though she did seem fully developed. She had long legs that were almost fully revealed in a short skirt. She had high cheekbones, and her face seemed to shine from heavy make-up. She had very dark, long eyebrows that shadowed over dark, amber eyes. Her lips were big and a dazzling scarlet.

"Ah, you're the new girl!" said Julie's dorm mate happily, smiling at Julie through her reflection in the mirror. Her teeth were all perfectly white and placed.

Julie Logan was not necessarily a judgmental person, yet she couldn't help but quickly get an idea in her head of what someone was probably like when they walked in a room. Julie was also smart, and anyone with half her IQ could see just as clearly that the girl that was yet to be named was _not _someone Julie wanted to hang out with. She seemed desperate, fake, and full of herself. Yet, at the same time, Julie had a horrible habit of expecting everyone to be a good person, and thought that maybe her roommate simply liked make-up, clothes, and always looking her best.

Julie cleared her throat awkwardly. "I – er – uh, yeah." She attempted to smile, though Julie was sure it failed miserably. She slowly walked over to her sink, which was thankfully far away from the other girl's. Julie started to wrench a hair brush through her thick, light brown locks, and tried desperately to keep her gaze away from her peer.

The girl was putting pins into her hair to make sure there was no single strand that lay out of place. She then fluffed out the rest of her hair with her hands, turning sideways towards the mirror while analyzing her look. "I'm Rebecca Goldnite," said the girl finally, holding out a hand with long fingernails painted a hot pink, with magical dancing wands on the tips. Julie almost grimaced as she held out one of her own hands, the other still brushing her thick hair.

"Julie Logan," she replied politely as she quickly wrenched her hand away and Rebecca's eyes instantly flew back to the mirror.

"Oh, I know," Rebecca said, still not really looking at Julie. "We _all_ know by now. You're very rare, you see. Transfers are only given to people that _really _need them, people who are _special_…" She looked at Julie with a large, perfectly white smile. "Of course, we are all happy to know you're in Ravenclaw. We were worried you'd both get put into Gryffindor…they get all the glory now-a-days."

Julie half-smiled, though didn't really feel it. After a few seconds of silence, Julie grabbed her toothbrush and brushed her teeth, glad for an excuse not to speak. Quickly, to ensure she wouldn't be forced to keep talking to Rebecca, Julie ducked under the sink and pulled out a bag in which she had put one of her robes in after finding even more clothes magically lying on her bed when she had stumbled in the dormitory the night before. After slinging the bag across her shoulders, Julie scurried — quite awkwardly — into one of the stalls and changed quickly; she had always been a quick dresser. She walked out of the stall, slid her bag back under the sink, and slid both of her hands over her hair once more to make sure the parting hadn't been horribly messed up by putting on her clothes. Julie turned to walk out of the bathroom, though was stopped by Rebecca.

"Oh, there's no need to go back, you can borrow mine."

Julie turned around, confused. "…Borrow your _what_, exactly?"

Rebecca looked at her, a frown line almost forming in between her perfectly shaped eyebrows. "Where are you going?"

Julie looked to the door then back at Rebecca. "I was going to go grab a bite to eat down in the Great Hall, then—"

"—Wait, you aren't doing anything else?" Rebecca's hand motioned up and down at Julie's body.

Julie looked down, befuddled, and then a hurt voice replied, "No, I'm not doing anything else."

Rebecca scoffed. "And you expect to make _friends_?"

Julie slightly whimpered. She knew that she could easily slip out of the bathroom and leave Rebecca, but knew that she would most likely get a talking to later for that. But Julie also felt hard and empty, and she could feel her face flushing, her feet planted on the tiled floor. Julie slowly came to the realization that she needed to respond, but before Julie could even form words, her body language said everything Rebecca needed to hear.

"Right," said Rebecca Goldnite, now starting to spray perfume around her shoulders. "But you've been warned."

Julie finally gathered courage to turn and walk through the door. She felt tears prick at the back of her eyes, but didn't allow them to show.

Julie Logan had woken up determined to make a friend. She thought if she was nice and polite to everyone, she'd find _someone _to talk to. Julie suddenly felt herself move back into reality, a painful world where all you can think of is the cruel truth. And the cruel truth of the matter was simply that Julie Logan was a shy, awkward, boring girl already labeled with the word 'weird'. As she threw her things in her suitcase and opened the door of her dormitory, she ran down the spiraling steps, scolding herself for ever thinking she would be any more normal than she had been at her old school.

The Ravenclaw common room was enormous; it looked even bigger than usual from the top of the steps. On the walls stood tall oval windows that gave the students a beautiful view of the rich mountains in the distance. Julie doubted that any of the other houses' common rooms could even compare in size. There were mounds of books standing on shelves up against the walls, a piano that stood gracefully in a corner, armchairs and couches put neatly in circles and groups around the room, and a marble statue of Rowena Ravenclaw in the middle of the gathering area, yet still there was plenty of room to move around. '_Wit beyond measure is man's greatest treasure,' _was engraved at the bottom of their founder's statue, which Julie had learned last night was Ravenclaw's saying. She started walking towards the door, but was stopped by a blonde figure in a comfy gray chair.

"Where exactly do you think you're going?" asked Cyle Moriatti in a voice of mock concern. Cyle was the boy prefect in sixth year.

Julie gulped. _Don't say something stupid! _was the only thought going through Julie's mind, so she gulped and said quietly, "Great Hall…I'm – er – hungry."

Cyle nodded reasonably, and put his book down on a side table. "Are you alright?" he asked kindly.

Julie could feel her fingers twitching. She nodded shakily. "Yeah, I'm fine…just a little nervous." Julie laughed uneasily. "But I'm fine."

Cyle smiled. "If you need anything, Julie, you know I'm here, right? And that goes for Ryan, Rovelta, and Jennifer too."

Julie grinned. "Yeah…yeah, I know Cyle. Thanks."

Cyle reached out to grab his book as Julie started walking towards the exit of the common room, but she suddenly stopped.

"Cyle?"

He looked up. "Yes, Julie?"

"Can I ask you a question?"

Cyle chuckled. "You've already asked me two." Seeing Julie's green eyes start to widen in embarrassment, he quickly added, "Yes, go on."

"How do I get to the Great Hall from here?"

And so Cyle got up, being the gentlemen he was, and walked her down to the Great Hall, as he too was in need of a good breakfast. Julie soon became very shy once more as Cyle picked seats around a bunch of younger Ravenclaws, and Julie could feel everyone's eyes on her. She tried to block out the indecent whispers as Cyle struck up a conversation with a small third year boy with brown hair and a small nose.

Julie looked around shyly, and after doing so for at least fifteen minutes, noticed her best friend, Hailey, walk in.

Hailey Titington was smiling as she entered the Great Hall with her new group of friends. She was standing in between Alice Prewitt, whose brown eyes contrasted her light blonde hair, and Marlene McKinnons, whose short brown hair kept bobbing up and down over her shoulders. Lily Evans was only a foot in front of them, constantly turning her head over her shoulder to laugh at what one of them said. Mary Macdonald tagged along behind them, grabbing at their shoulders to whisper things that would make them all laugh in response.

After spending some time with them, Hailey had deducted all of their personalities. Lily liked to take charge and be the mature one, but behind closed doors could be just as silly and girly as any of the others. She was effortlessly beautiful, though put on basic make-up like the rest. Hailey couldn't see a difference. Her red hair seemed to signify her fiery disposition, ready to back-up and help anyone who needed it. She had beautiful, large, bright green eyes that were a shade Hailey had yet to see on anyone else.

Alice seemed giggly and a good listener. She'd put in good points in discussions, rarely mature ones, and would somehow be able to overhear everyone else's conversations and notice what everyone in the room was doing. Hailey wondered if it was a rare magical talent, or if the young witch was simply observant. She seemed kind and witty, though not as much into drama and boys as Marlene was; she still knew some about it, of course.

Marlene was boisterous, loud, extremely funny, and always trying to be the center of attention. She loved make-up, though wasn't full of herself. She loved talking about boys, yet had only had three boyfriends and was currently single. Even though she loved drama, Marlene always made sure to never say anything _that _bad about a person unless they completely deserved it. And although she would seem sweet in front of the staff, she would give someone a right hexing if they deserved it. Marlene was well rounded, and Hailey liked that about her.

Mary was clever, and seemed to enjoy watching everyone else's reactions before sharing her own. While she usually followed what the rest of the group did, she would sometimes contribute a fun idea or topic to talk about and could steer a conversation from going downhill. She was good at hiding her emotions. Hailey could remember that from the night before, when she had first met _him._

Sirius Black had been the center of Hailey's thoughts the whole night before and had even consumed some of her daydreaming that morning. Hailey smiled as she entered the Great Hall with satisfaction. When you've gone to school with _no _boys almost all of your teenage years, meeting a fantastically handsome one the first day of your transfer can really brighten your mood. So can the fact that he's in the same year as you…and single.

Hailey sat down on one side of the table, in between Lily and Alice. Mary and Marlene sat across from them as they scooped up their food. Hailey glanced down the table looking for Sirius and James Potter, who seemed to be a good friend of his, but didn't see them.

"Looking for 'em, eh?" asked Marlene conversationally, hiding a smirk by pushing food into her mouth.

Hailey zapped her gaze back to her friends. "What?"

Alice and Marlene laughed, and Lily even giggled a bit.

"Sirius Black," said Marlene obviously. "Look, you may not have a crush on him yet or whatever, but you have to admit that him and Potter are bloody gorgeous." She shrugged. "It's a natural reaction. Heck, its been six years and even _I _still naturally react—"

"—Oh please, shut up before you embarrass yourself," said Lily pleadingly.

Mary chuckled. "Too late for that."

They all laughed.

Alice piped in, "They don't usually come down here until we're leaving. They like to sleep in, I suppose, after causing so much trouble during the day."

Hailey nodded, her ocean blue eyes shining with both disappointment and interest as Professor McGonagall came walking around their table, holding a stack of parchment. Hailey pointed her thumb towards the teacher and asked, "What's she doing?"

Lily glanced over towards the Transfiguration teacher and glanced back at her newest friend. "She's handing out our schedules…oh, I had totally forgotten, what classes are you taking!?"

Hailey seemed taken aback for a moment, then replied, "I – er – the same ones as you, right? Don't we all take the same classes?"

Mary shook her head. "We take the same basic classes together – Potions, for example – but others, like Muggle Studies, Divination, and Ancient Runes, we got to choose during third year." When Hailey's face didn't dawn any comprehension, Mary added, "You _did _get to choose your classes, _right_?"

Hailey looked down at the table, her brows furrowing. "No…" She started playing with her hands; Hailey always did that when confused, and somehow played it off without looking quiet or shy.

Marlene looked murderous. "Are you telling me they're going to say you're important enough to be allowed a transfer, but _not _special enough to get to pick your extra classes!? I'll be right back…"

"Oh sit down, you tiresome git," said Mary wearily as she wrenched Marlene back in her seat.

"Hello, girls," said Professor McGonagall kindly, though her voice had a strict tone that seemed to never subside. "Here are your schedules…Miss Evans—" Lily reached out her hand, "—Miss McKinnons and Prewitt—" they both wrenched their schedules from McGonagall's grasp excitedly, "—Miss Macdonald and, of course, Miss Titington." She handed both of them their schedules. Hailey had the odd impression that McGonagall had given Hailey her's last for dramatic effect.

Hailey looked at her schedule:

**Defense Against the Dark Arts _(w/ Slytherin)_ – 8:00**

**Potions _(w/ Ravenclaw)_ – 9:00**

**Double Divination_ (w/ Hufflepuff)_ – 10:00**

**Herbology _(w/ Hufflepuff) _– 11:30**

**Transfiguration _(w/ Slytherin)_ – 1:30**

**Double Charms _(w/ Ravenclaw)_ – 2:30**

**History of Magic _(w/ Hufflepuff)_ – 4:00**

**Astronomy _(w/ Ravenclaw)_ – 7:30**

Hailey's eyes widened and a smile danced on her face. The whole concept was so new to her: classes with thirty minute periods in between them, switching which classes you had with whom, having to walk across tricky grounds to get to your lesson…it all seemed so extravagant.

"Well…?" asked Alice impatiently.

Hailey smiled. "Well, I see nothing wrong with it."

Lily shook her head as she looked over at her paper. "Divination? _Really?_"

Hailey giggled. "I didn't choose it! Though, if given the choice, I probably would have…why?"

Lily flushed. "Oh – well – I didn't mean to offend you, it's just that here, at Hogwarts, Divination isn't a very – er – worthy subject…"

"What she's trying to say, Hailey, is that Divination is a useless subject taught by a teacher who might as well be a Squib," stated Marlene matter-of-factly. Mary hit her playfully across the arm. "What!? It's true!"

Lily's eyes kept dancing from her paper to Hailey's, then sighed. "Well, that's it. We've lost you."

Hailey rolled her eyes. "What do you mean?"

"We don't have Astronomy _or _Divination with each other, but the rest we have together," Lily said. "Usually we don't have all of our classes in one day. I guess they're allowing time to go over rules and expectations for every class."

"Lovely," Hailey responded sarcastically.

"Very," Alice murmured back.

When the girls got done eating and talking about their schedules, they all simultaneously got up to leave. They got to the portrait of the Fat Lady, and Lily firmly stated the password (_Phoenix_). After getting their things, the girls slowly made their way back down towards the Grand Hall, sadly without the interference of either James _or _Sirius, where they would keep walking straight ahead and climb multiple staircases to get to Defense Against the Dark Arts. Right as they got to the top of a now busy staircase, Hailey slapped her face.

"Oh Merlin, I accidentally got my Potions book instead of Defense."

Alice and Marlene turned around immediately. "You're going to be late!" they both squealed.

Lily too turned around, looking disappointed. "You told us you had checked to make sure you had the right things in your bag."

Hailey flushed. She was going to check her bag as the exited her dormitory, but when she remembered who might possibly could be in the common room, her mind had wandered elsewhere, and had refused to come back to earth. "Look, guys, I'm sorry, I'll be right back…"

"Do you want me to come with you?" asked Alice kindly. Mary seemed amused.

"No – no, I'm fine."

Hailey quickly turned around and dashed back up staircases, down others, ran in circles through random corridors, and finally found the Fat Lady.

"Well there goes all hope of me finding my way around," said Hailey to herself. This got the Fat Lady's attention, and before she could critique Hailey, "Phoenix, phoenix, now open up, will ya!?"

The Fat Lady responded with a grunt and sour look, and grudgingly opened the door. It opened very slowly and silently, and when Hailey had finally found her way into the porthole, she heard voices.

"Padfoot, you're being ridiculous—"

"Moony, shut the bloody hell up and tell me what you think!"

"I think, my friend, you've become mentally ill. Should we call Madame Pomfrey?"

Hailey heard a noise that greatly resembled a growl. "And I call you my friends…"

Suddenly Hailey saw a pacing Sirius Black in front of her, though he quickly went out of view again without a second glance at her. He seemed to have been on the far side of the common room where you couldn't see the entrance the Fat Lady engraved in the wall.

Hailey felt shivers wave down her spine. His voice was so…she searched for the right word…mesmerizing. It was deep, dark, spiteful, and undeniably British, whereas the person Sirius had been talking to had a soft, kind, light voice that had specks of British accents here and there.

"_I _think," came a cocky, not as deep, playful voice that so obviously screamed _James_, "that it's a brilliant plan. And that it should happen tonight."

Hailey, without even seeing anyone, could feel Sirius smile and hear the light high-five he'd given his best mate. Hailey knew she should either turn around and leave with the wrong book, or apologize profusely as she went up to her dorm to get the right one. But she couldn't. Hailey Titington, for one of the first times in her life, had actually convinced herself to be quiet and _listen_. Because Hailey had a feeling that if she did, she'd be rewarded.

"Alright," came Sirius' voice, and Hailey couldn't help but crack a wry smile, "Prongs is in. What about you, Wormtail?"

Hailey could barely perceive a slight squeak of noise that must have been a yes, for Hailey could tell Sirius' voice had gotten much happier and cheerful when he said, "Then I believe that our decision lies on Mr. Moony."

Hailey waited anxiously in the silence as the kind, soft voice filled the air with, "I'm going to regret this in twenty-four hours."

And all four of them, at least Hailey believed there were four, started to chuckle kindheartedly, and she could hear them tussle to get their books.

"Prongs, you do have your Invisibility Cloak, right?" asked the soft voice.

James chuckled. "No, Moony. I decided that since I've never put use to it, I'd burn it in my fireplace over the summer." He sighed. "Yes, I have it. Stop being such a ninny."

"I'm not being a ninny," came the light voice once more, "It's just I have a super bad feeling about Padfoot and his ridiculous plan."

"M-me too," came a squeaky voice.

Sirius barked a laugh. "You all need to learn how to have some fun. If I didn't know any better, I'd swear you two had been scolded by the Ministry over the summer," he said. Hailey could hear footsteps getting closer to her. She shifted silently, her back hugging the wall, breathing quietly in the dark. "It's not like anyone will know we're going to nick Filch's cat."

And as though it had been planned to do so, as though she had meant to do it all along, Hailey stepped out from the shadows, and faced a haughty Sirius Black, a messy James Potter, a plump, short, anxious looking boy, and a brunette, quiet, sick-looking teen. All four suddenly stopped at the sight of Hailey.

"Oh, but it turns out that _I _know."

Sirius' mouth dropped and started to mouth a very dirty word, though thankfully no sound came out. James' usual cocky demeanor had suddenly become very awkward and unsure. The sick, skinny boy had a defeated look on his face, yet didn't seem as surprised as the others. The plump boy's eyes widened, and his gaze fixed almost instantly on James and Sirius.

"Wha – you – how—" Sirius stuttered.

It took most of Hailey's inner strength to keep herself from drooling because of the look on Sirius' face (or moreover, _Sirius' face_) and from laughing at the completely horrified expressions most of them portrayed.

"What are you guys doing?" asked Hailey, all thoughts of actually going to class forgotten.

The tired boy with brown hair sighed, "Exactly how much of that did you hear?"

"That doesn't answer my question," replied Hailey profusely.

"No, it doesn't," said the boy, "But that didn't answer my question either."

There was a reasonable silence. James was staring at the brunette boy as though he'd gone mad, and the plump teen had resorted to dancing his eyes back and forth from James to Sirius, who seemed to be staring at Hailey, lost for words.

"Remus Lupin," said the skinny boy finally. "This is Peter Pettigrew—" he pointed his thumb at the blonde, chubby boy, "—and James Potter and Sirius Black," he said wirily, shifting his head towards the two. "And you're the new student."

Hailey nodded. "Would any of you mind telling me what you were talking about in there?" Hailey didn't know why she cared. Any normal person who had listened in on that whole conversation would pretend they hadn't heard a thing and show no interest in the subject what-so-ever. But Hailey had heard things that she was curious about, and when Hailey Titington wanted answers, she got answers. It was as simple as that.

Peter voiced what seemed to be a cross between a squeak and a sneeze. James looked at Sirius with a helpless look in his eyes, and Sirius' eyes revaled that he was absolutely clueless as to what should happen next. Remus Lupin kept giving Hailey side looks, but he seemed most nervous about which of his friends would be the first to put his foot in his mouth.

James took a long sigh. "Well I'm guessing Evans has told you about how we have a…tendency…to get into trouble—"

"—Tendency? Mate, more like a routine," intervened Sirius.

James rolled his eyes, exasperated. "_Anyways…_you were there last night, so you know what I mean…well, Filch decided that he would take a total of forty points from Gryffindor less than three hours after we'd arrived, and…"

"…And we want to find a way to get him back," said Peter Pettigrew. He had beady eyes and a pointed nose, and his blonde hair seemed to stand in small tufts. "We usually like making a name for ourselves, but Filch was just trying to show how much authority he had and sort of got carried away. At least, that's we've figured." The first thing that crossed Hailey's mind was that Peter used the word 'we' as though Peter, too, was in on the pranks that Sirius and James were so famous for. Peter had talked very fast with slow breaths between sentences. Hailey looked around at the other three. They hadn't seemed to notice, so Hailey presumed that it was something the boy could not help.

Hailey chuckled, walking forward and now completely out of the path from the portrait hole. "I have another idea."

James seemed to have regained some of his cockiness after realizing Hailey couldn't have heard _that _much or else she'd be pounding them for answers still. "You do, now?" he asked, cocking an eyebrow.

Hailey gulped. Was there a reason that they all had to be so damn good-looking?

"Yes, actually I do," she replied, thanking Merlin that she could still talk smoothly in the roughest of situations. "_My _theory is that you two," she motioned towards James and Sirius, "were being tiresome gits that had broken about twelve school rules within the three hour period you had been here." She sighed. "So I think Mr. Filch gave you a reasonable punishment for being a bunch of wild banshees."

"_Hey!_" recoiled Sirius. James seemed amused.

"Ah, so we have a joker in our midst…"

"Shut it, Prongs, she was accusing us of acting like a bunch of banshees!"

"Padfoot, we _do_."

Peter seemed tranquil, trying to mirror James' and Sirius' reactions, but Remus Lupin, the gangly soft spoken one, laughed at both Hailey and his bantering friends; Hailey couldn't help but notice, however, that flickers of worry kept flooding his eyes.

Hailey sighed, trying not to laugh herself, and asked a question that had been gnawing at her since she had overheard the four teens. "What is that?"

Sirius looked up at her and spoke to her coherently for the first time that day. "What is what?"

"Those—" Hailey tried to think of the right words with Sirius' gorgeous silver eyes pining into her skin, "—those things you call eachother. Like Padfoot and Prongs, or whatever you two just said."

There was a deep silence where suddenly, the four showed an excellent talent at hiding emotion. "They're just nicknames," Remus answered in a straight monotone. "You know, just little throw-a-way words that we'd begun to call one another."

James agreed, "They just stuck."

Hailey nodded reasonably. "That's all I heard."

Remus stared at her for a second, then nodded. "That's all?"

"Well, and that last bit."

"Well obviously."

"_What_?" inquired Sirius, a look of (in Hailey's opinion, 'adorable') stupidity on his face.

James seemed to have comprehended. "So you only heard us talking to eachother…no details or anything…"

Hailey shook her head.

Remus seemed to have noticed Sirius sputtering, so said quickly, "Sirius, she only heard you trying to convince us that it was a good idea, and the last bit about what we were going to do. Well, part of it…not exactly."

Sirius nodded. Peter's eyes shined with understanding though he let his face exhibit layers of stupidity, possibly trying to mimic how Sirius had looked moments before.

Hailey's eyes widened as she started to think back to what she had overheard only minutes before. "You have an Invisibility Cloak!" Hailey exclaimed suddenly, pointing at James.

"Well shit," murmured Sirius, earning a punch in the arm from Remus.

"Right," started Remus, obviously trying to sway off the subject. "Well, Hailey, it isn't anything that's going to harm anyone or anything, and to tell you the truth, I doubt we do this now, anyways."

"Do _what_!?" screeched Hailey. She had such a desirable need to know what those stupid boys were talking about that her mind was literally begging for information, down on its knees gnawing at her head. The fact that there were four people in the room that knew what Hailey wanted to know was inwardly killing her. It was weird that she cared that much, and somewhere deep inside her she acknowledged that, but it seemed the more Hailey thought about the situation and them, the more needy she became. She felt as though her brain was racing out her head, as though everything else had stopped. Hailey suddenly realized that her thoughts were coming fast…almost too fast. Then something strange happened. Hailey felt her brain lurching forward, as though reforming itself, and her eyesight became blurry then went away completely. Suddenly, she blinked and realized that she wasn't looking through her own eyes.

Hailey knew that for many reasons. One of them was that she wasn't given the same amount of space to look at. Her own eyes were long and tall, while this person's seemed a little bigger height-wise but a little smaller length-wise. She also recognized that she had never been this tall, not even in heels, nor would she ever be. Also, her vision seemed to come from a window that had been fogged up after a long night's rain. It seemed as though...but it couldn't be...had she traveled back in time?

Hailey was really tired of thinking of so many things in so few seconds.

"Sirius, we really should be getting to class," said what appeared to be Remus Lupin. Remus was walking towards Hailey, his bag clutched tightly around his arm and his back hunched slightly. Hailey was confused. Why had Remus called her Sirius? When Hailey's eyes seemed to look another way without Hailey even telling them to, it became clear.

Students were filing out of the common room so quick that it was as though the room had caught on fire. No one seemed to give a second glance towards Remus, who was standing right in front of the fireplace, or to Hailey, who was standing right beside him. _I have to be Sirius_, thought Hailey. She was only a bit taller than Remus, and when dark black hair became exposed to her eyesight when she quickly glanced down at her shoes, Hailey knew that she was somehow Sirius. And what with all the students running out of the common room, Hailey guessed that this was around 8:00 that morning. After concluding this, Hailey gave up on all other thoughts and simply watched, as her thoughts seemed to inspire no action or change in the situation.

"No Moony, really, there's something I need to tell all of you," Hailey heard herself say in Sirius' voice when Remus made a move to walk away after seeing even more students rush out of the common room. Hailey thought it was extremely weird how she seemed connected to Sirius' words and eyesight, though everything else seemed cut off. She didn't feel it when Sirius moved his hands to emphasize his words, and wouldn't have even known that Sirius had moved a body part if it hadn't temporarily come into view.

Remus sighed, seeming half annoyed and half accustomed to his best mate's stubbornness. He settled down in an armchair right beside where Sirius was standing.

After few minutes of Sirius' pacing, Hailey watched as James Potter came down from the dormitories, his tie in his hand. "Hey Padfoot, you said that you had an idea?"

Sirius motioned for James to come over to him and Remus. Hailey noticed that they were at the far end of the common room, still near the fireplace, where most of the other students were quickly passing without a second glance.

"Yes I do Prongs, and might I say that it's bloody _brilliant_."

"Anything to get Filch back," said James. "I think it's rude of him to take _that _many points from us without a worthy prank. Grffindor's in last place already and the school year hasn't even officially started!"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," said Sirius quickly without emotion. "Where's Wormtail?"

"Upstairs getting dressed," said James agitatedly. "He asked me if I had any hair gel." James ruffled his very messy black hair. "_Me? Hair gel?_" James shook his head. "That relationship will _never _work out."

Remus chuckled kindheartedly. Hailey suddenly found Sirius' eyes dancing on Remus' hair, eyes, and wrinkled clothes.

"Hey, Moony, you alright?" asked Sirius solemnly.

Remus nodded as he watched the younger students trample out of the common room. Hailey couldn't help but think that he looked so much older than sixteen. "Yeah, mate. Just some after-effects, that's all."

Sirius' eyes widened. "_Moony_, you self-less, under-estimating, terrible friend…we _told _you that we would come to your house on the full moon, but _no_..."

"Sirius, really," Remus opened up his bag of books, "its fine. _I'm _fine. I'll admit that it was terribly lonely, but it was—"

"—Fine," finished Sirius tensely.

James sighed as he sat on the floor under Remus. "You do know that we're here for you, mate."

Remus nodded as he reached in his bag for a book. "Yeah, of course I know. You guys have always been there." Hailey (and possibly Sirius) knew that Remus would have said _"Thank you," _if Peter hadn't chosen that time to come down from the dormitory. He looked around the empty common room suspiciously.

"We're going to be tardy for class, mate," Peter said grumpily as he headed over towards the fireplace.

Sirius nodded impatiently. "Yeah, I know Wormtail, but this is something _much _more important."

Remus hadn't looked up from his book that was now open in his lap, but Sirius seemed to know he was listening. James was trying to put on his tie, though stopped half-way through the tying process to make it look effortless. Peter was looking anxiously at all of them, trying to decide what to do, but ended up simply standing there with a ready expression on his face, an emotion that ran from his eyes.

Sirius cleared his throat, obviously trying to seem important. "So, as you all know, last night, James and I got caught by Filch after putting a Zonko product in his pocket—"

"—Which Zonko product?" asked Remus curiously, his eyes still calculating the words in his book.

"The new one, Pimples for Prats," said James proudly. "It actually doesn't come out for another three weeks, but the manager gave it to us as a gift for being such loyal customers."

Remus rolled his eyes. "The things you two get away with…"

"_Anyways_," said Sirius desperately, "do you guys want to hear it or not?"

James nodded, half-interested, Remus didn't move his gaze from his book, but Peter's mouth was almost watering with hunger.

"We all know that we're going to continue to make trouble the whole year, no matter what. But I'm worried that Filch has started to focus on punishing solely _us_, and I don't fancy getting caught in a broom closet while—"

"We understand, Padfoot," Remus stammered quickly. "Continue."

Sirius chuckled. "Well, anyways, I thought that we needed to do something to make him preoccupied so he isn't as worried about catching students — well, _us_ — out of bounds."

James scoffed. "How do you suppose we do _that_, mate?"

"I thought about it all last night," started Sirius dramatically. The small part of Hailey's brain that still seemed to voice its own thoughts felt like laughing. "Let me ask you this: What is the one thing on this earth that Filch seems to actually have feelings for?"

James looked up, his eyes widened, his face sincere. "Filch has _feelings_?"

"That's rude, James," replied Remus as he finally looked up from his book.

James shrugged lackadaisically and looked up at Sirius. "What does Filch care about?"

"Mrs. Norris! That damn cat that follows us every time we use the Invisibility Cloak!" Sirius smiled crazily, Hailey could feel it. "So don't you see? All we have to do is steal Mrs. Norris, let Filch worry himself to death about her, then return her anonymously, maybe looking a little thinner than before. From then on, Filch'll be too busy guarding the cat to even notice what we're doing."

Peter looked up at Sirius admirably. "Padfoot…that's genius!"

Sirius smiled eccentrically. "See, Wormtail here has some good judgment!"

James rolled his eyes casually as he looked down at his lazily placed tie. "Sirius, it's a good idea and all, but how exactly do we steal a _cat_? And even worse, how and why do we _keep _her?"

"We could put her in our dorm, maybe even the Room of Requirement, and just find her some dead rats to eat," replied Sirius. His voice made it sound as though he'd answered the question in his head many times before.

"Hey!" accused Peter fiercely.

James rolled his eyes, still sitting comfortably on the floor in front of Remus' armchair. "Sirius didn't mean you, Wormtail."

There was a short pause where Remus' eyes flurried worryingly over his group of friends before saying, "Padfoot, you're being ridiculous—"

That one sentence seemed to signal something, because Hailey suddenly felt her brain compacting, moving through a small tube, until she was staring where the Marauders stood, about to answer her outburst of _"Do _what_!?" _Thoughts raced like Seeker's broomsticks in a race to the Snitch as Hailey became aware of the fact that she was in her own body now, that she controlled her actions, and what point in the conversation she had been in with the boys. She was back in the present...or what seemed to be the present.

Hailey found herself standing in front of four cute boys, extremely frustrated, confused, tired, and agitated. _Why does this keep happening to me? _she thought painfully. All of the tricks her mind had been playing on her over the past few weeks were starting to get to her. Hailey was starting to worry something was wrong with her. What was she supposed to think when she suddenly transferred her brain into someone else's head and relived what had happened minutes before?

Hailey started to wonder how long she had been gone, or whether they had noticed. Their blank expressions were still there, but they bore a bit of impatience. Hailey then remembered the sentence that triggered her exit from Sirius' brain.

It was the same sentence she had first heard upon entering the common room.

"I told you Hailey, we can't tell you what we're doing," replied James, obviously worried, anxious, yet tired of a fiery girl pushing his limits.

Hailey pushed past them and walked all the way across the common room to the armchair where Remus had been sitting in her vision. She saw Remus' book on the side table, reassuring Hailey what she had seen was not some weird hallucination.

Hailey groaned and sat down in the chair, burying her face in her hands, just imagining what the four boys must be doing now.

"Y – you okay?" asked Peter's voice cautiously.

Hailey looked through the cracks of her hands. They were all standing where they had been before, though eyeing Hailey suspiciously.

"You all are going to steal Filch's cat. You're going to put her in the Room of Requirement—" Hailey paused, wondering what that was, "—or in your dorm. After about a week, you're going to somehow give her back to Filch without him knowing who took her. This will send Filch over the edge, and he'll be too busy looking out for his cat than to notice or even care what you all are doing."

Sirius' eye twitched. James' mouth dropped open, Peter's mouth mimicked James' after a quick side-glance, and Remus' brow furrowed in frustration.

Hailey sighed. "You guys need help. And I'm not just saying that. Your plan has so many holes in it that it's sad to think you could have been pulling pranks for all these years and still not learned a lesson." Hailey looked at them. They were still standing.

"Well sit down, then!"

After ushering the shocked boys down, Hailey explained the revised plan to them, all of whom seemed utterly bewildered that Hailey figured out their prank. Hailey ended up admiring each in a unique way. Peter seemed quiet and a bit awkward, but for what it was worth, seemed very loyal and trustworthy. James was loud and complimentary, and very anxious to get started. Remus was respectful, and although quiet, gave some helpful additions to the plan Hailey had managed to muster up. Sirius was, well, gorgeous, and that distracted Hailey enough that she couldn't think of another adjective to describe him. After discussing it for what seemed like an hour, students started piling back into the common room, which meant that Sirius Black, James Potter, Remus Lupin, Peter Pettigrew, and Hailey Titington all missed their first class of sixth year. Remus, being a prefect, told Professor McGonagall that he and his friends had only stopped Hailey to explain to her how their schedules worked since she had seemed confused. The Transfiguration teacher had pursed her lips in response, and explained to Mr. Lupin that it did not take four people and a whole class period to explain a schedule. However, after hearing about the incident with Filch the night before, she could not bear to take any more points from her own house unless strictly needed.

After having a day full of hello's, stares, awkward situations and stressful in-class experiments, Hailey, James, Sirius, Peter, and Remus met up in the common room at 8:30 that night.

"Well, to get the Potion we'll need to go up to the dorm," Remus suggested.

Hailey's eyes wandered up towards the staircase a few feet away from her. In a few minutes time, she could possibly be seeing the bed Sirius laid in at night, the books he enjoyed reading, smelling the same air Sirius did – Hailey noted that her thoughts were beginning to sound a bit creepy.

Hailey walked up to the boys' dorm, both excited and anxious.

James led the way, followed closely by Sirius. Remus stood beside Hailey and gave her a smile as they entered the messy dormitory. Hailey figured that Peter was somewhere behind them.

The boys' dormitory, surprisingly, didn't stink. Although it was messy, you could actually walk around the room, which was a full step higher than Hailey had expected. Which bed was who's was almost too easy to imagine. The one closest to the door had to be Remus'; the sheets were actually made and a book lay on the side table. There was a picture right behind the book with dull colors, and although Hailey could tell it was a magical picture because it moved, she could not decipher what it actually was.

The one next to Remus' bed was probably Sirius'; it was messy with the covers sprawled in all different directions, and half of his pillows were laying on the ground. There was a large picture standing on his side table, this one including a vast amount of people all dressed in black. There was one spot near the middle of the first row of people that was empty. The picture frame was silver with words engraved upon it, but every few seconds one of the words would go from the silver color of the frame to a bright red, then would just as quickly go away.

The bed across from Sirius' was evidently Peter's. The only reason Hailey presumed this was because of the bed next to it.

James' bed lay in between two posters of Quidditch teams, and a Snitch and Quidditch Rule Book lay on his side table, along with a white bracelet that had engraved upon it the name _James_.

"Alright," James said excitedly as he went over to what Hailey had thought was his bed. It was near the corner of the room, but somehow James edged his lean body over towards the corner crease of the wall, and came back up with a small cardboard box.

"Remind me again why you and Sirius just _happened _to brew up Polyjuice Potion over the summer?" asked Hailey mildly. After spending less than a day with them, Hailey could tell that these were the kinds of things they did, no matter how abnormal they seemed to be.

James shrugged. "Just had a feeling, right, Sirius?" Hailey noted how since she had inquired about their nicknames, they had yet to use them in front of her again.

Sirius must have been lost in thought, for Hailey watched him blink and turn his gaze towards James. "Wha – oh, erm – yeah, right."

James tried scooting out of the tight space that he had between the bed and the wall with the box in his hands. His grip was still tight, though the space he had to move through could unfortunately be explained by the same adjective.

"Oi, Wormtail, give me some help, will ya?"

Peter left Hailey's left side with a whoosh as he scrambled over to grab the box out of James' hands, then watched with eyes wide as James climbed upward out of the corner and over his bed.

Sirius gave a round of applause. "Now let's hear for our Olympic Gold Medalist, James Potter, for getting out of a cramped corner with such gracefulness and physicality!"

Hailey looked at Sirius and laughed. Sirius' eyes widened and his smile became much bigger as he laughed with her. James scowled at them as he regained his posture. Hailey looked at Remus, who was still standing beside her near the doorway.

Out of all of the four boys, Remus seemed the least interesting at first glance. He didn't say much, he didn't do much, he smiled when necessary and told his friends when they had gone too far. But that was it at first glance; almost like with Julie, Remus seemed to be someone who blossomed more when around people he knew rather than strangers. He seemed like the kind of person to do an unexpected act of kindness, and someone who always put others before himself. But he also seemed very reserved and contemplative. Hailey then looked past that and onto physical appearances.

Now that Hailey was seeing Remus up close, he didn't look sick. He almost looked like he had _been _sick, but now he was gradually getting better. He was tall, though unlike Sirius with his toned muscles, Remus was obviously not a Quidditch player. He was somewhat gangly, though probably wouldn't seem that way if he hadn't been as tall as he was. Remus' skin was somewhat tan, though wasn't near as dark as Sirius. His eyes were the kindest eyes Hailey had ever seen. They were a soft and sweet shade of amber brown. When Hailey looked at Remus right then, it was as though she were looking at a baby puppy. It was adorably cute, what with his chocolate brown, round eyes shining innocently. His hair was longer than James' but shorter than Sirius'. It wasn't messy, but it wasn't graceful either. It was simply _there_; it was light brown, a lot lighter of a shade than there was in his eyes. His smile, however rare, was contagious.

Hailey's eyes quickly averted back to James and Peter, who were placing the box down on Peter's bed. Remus, Sirius and Hailey all gathered around as James opened the box carefully.

James grinned mischievously. "Okay, now for the specimen…"

James went around Peter's bed, opened a drawer in his side table, and grabbed and revealed the contents of a huge suitcase. Hailey gasped both in shock and in disgust.

The suitcase was covered top to bottom with small sandwich bags labeled with names. Inside the sandwich bags were what seemed to be—

"Hair," James clarified as he closed the suitcase and showed Hailey a crinkled bag with _Filch _written on it in dark letters. Inside the bag near the bottom were a few strands of dark grey hair.

"We nicked this in first year," announced Peter proudly.

Hailey exhaled, smiled with a quick laugh, and rolled her eyes. "Might I ask why in the name of Merlin you were stealing people's hair in first year?"

Remus looked at her, and for the first time, a teasing look filled his eyes. "You might ask that, but I doubt you'd get an answer." He smiled.

_Damn that smile_, thought Hailey bitterly. She then inwardly thanked Merlin that it wasn't Sirius' smile.

James looked at Hailey worryingly. "So Hailey, I just drink this, put on the robes, and wait until I get the signal?"

Hailey nodded. "Oh, that reminds me…Remus, Peter, you two need to go on to the library."

Remus nodded knowingly as he stepped out from their huddle around Peter's bed. "Where's the Map?" he asked nonchalantly.

"A map?" asked Hailey.

"Oh, I found this map in _Hogwarts: A History _that shows every corridor at Hogwarts. That way, you know, if you were running from Filch and got lost, I could find you," Remus lied easily. Even though it was a seemingly pitiful lie, it tricked Hailey.

"Oh, okay," she said as she turned her head back to James. Hailey smiled inwardly as she realized she was once again alone with only Sirius Black and James Potter to give her company. _Only…_

_ϟ_

Julie walked into the library shyly as she clutched her Potions book close to her chest. The wide-eyed stares that she had been getting earlier in the day had worn off, and were now simply nonchalant side-glances. She looked around for a table to do her homework.

Julie had wanted to simply do her work in her dormitory, away from everyone else, but once she was informed that Rebecca Goldnite did all of her studying up near her make-up kit and commonly occupied bed, she dismissed the idea immediately. Julie had considered doing her homework in the common room, where it was always quiet and relaxing. But Julie didn't want Jennifer's constant naggings about whether or not Julie was fitting in (because, quite honestly, she wasn't) or Rovelta's annoying habit of twirling her hair and flipping it over her shoulder every five minutes. Although Julie knew that Rovelta wasn't doing it to be vain, Julie simply couldn't concentrate while hearing her silky hair whip through the air. Plus, Ryan joked about anything and everything, and had found a fun pastime in trying to find words that rhymed with _Julie_. Cyle would have been bearable company, but as Ryan was usually wherever Cyle was, Julie knew she wouldn't be able to withstand their prolonged presence.

And so there Julie was, walking around the Hogwarts' school library for the first time. She watched in amazement as books reorganized themselves on their appropriate shelves without any human lifting a helping hand. Julie walked to the back of the library where she hoped she would find an empty table, but felt a large brick topple to the pit of her stomach when she found the first six tables within eyesight to be full with large groups of second or third years doing homework. She glanced down the row of tabletops, but saw no empty seats. She glanced the other way, and saw the table at the end was empty except for one occupant.

Julie sighed, knowing her social awkwardness was about to get the best of her. But then again, she was only going to do homework. It wasn't like she'd _have _to talk to the other person. Besides, the other person seemed very content reading.

Julie didn't dare let 'the other person' be described as a _he_ in her mind. Because Julie and _he_'s just didn't work out well.

Julie walked over to the table, hoping the boy would notice her arrival so she wouldn't have to announce her presence. The boy's eyes, however, remained glued on the text, so Julie thought it would be wise to speak up.

"Um…is it okay if I sit here?" Julie asked so quietly that she secretly hoped that the boy had not heard her. The teenager looked up.

"Yeah…yeah, its fine," he said, as though speaking through a summer haze.

Julie avoided his face at all costs, and sat down with her head inclined towards the ground. She didn't want to know how he looked, because if she were to spend the rest of the night sitting here with him doing homework, she didn't need a distraction. However, Julie felt a bit of guilt as she thought about the way he had replied to her, and was worried she had interrupted him.

Julie opened up her book, and still avoiding the boy's eyes, said quietly, "Sorry if I bothered you."

Apparently the boy hadn't gone back to reading, because Julie could see out of the tips of her eyes that he was still looking at her. "No, it's fine!" he said hastily.

Julie looked up, and instantly wished she hadn't.

The boy had light brown hair that wasn't too long, though it was long enough to look unique. He had the prettiest eyes Julie had ever seen, and she could feel her face blushing as she saw them. They were big, round, and a chocolate brown that had a glossy glow to it. He had a small nose, and the rest of his face had a couple of minor scars, yet he still looked extremely beautiful. Julie felt her face get hot. He seemed _so much more attractive _than what she had thought Cyle was; Julie just wasn't used to being around boys. He was just as skinny as Cyle but looked a little taller, and everything about this boy made everyone else in the room pale in comparison. His voice was sweet and soft, unlike most of the boys' voices at Hogwarts that were loud, rude, obnoxious, and spiteful. He seemed so sincere and honest, and Julie didn't have a clue as to why she thought those things. She had only just met him, and they had only shared four sentences with each other. Julie wasn't sure at all of what she was feeling, but she was positively certain that she was enjoying it.

Then Julie came to the realization that they both had been staring at each other for Merlin knows _how _long.

Julie felt her face get even hotter, but couldn't take her eyes off the boy. Needless to say, she didn't exactly want to either.

"I – I'm Julie," she said croakily. She grinned, and couldn't help but wonder where she had gotten the courage to do _anything_. Julie considered that it was possible since all of her other senses had floated away that only courage remained. Julie also considered the fact that maybe it was courage that she needed most right then.

The boy still had his book in his hands, and his mouth was closed unlike Julie's, but his eyes were widened. He seemed mysterious. Julie could tell he was caught off guard by something, but he had a good way of making it seem like nothing. It was his eyes that gave him away.

"I'm Remus Lupin," said the boy finally, and grinned back.

Julie felt like her brain had given up on all function. Remus Lupin seemed like a perfect name for this boy, and a grin fell its way peacefully on both of their faces.

They both simultaneously looked down at their books. Remus had been reading a book for casual reading, and Julie had open a Potions book. Neither had a clue that the other wouldn't read a single page after being introduced to one another.

_ϟ_

Hailey watched as Filch bounced around the dormitory, his eyes jumping everywhere.

"Blimey, I know I put it in here somewhere," came Filch's voice, but the air that surrounded it was too much like James for it to be believable.

"I have it," said Sirius as he handed a gray, sleek blanket over towards James, who was now wearing battered gray robes in the appearance of Filch.

James covered himself with the robe. "Merlin, Filch's feet feel weird. Remind me to never take these shoes off. _Ever._"

Sirius opened up the dormitory door, and James knocked on it once as soon as he had completely exited to signify that he had gotten out. Sirius motioned for Hailey to go through, which she did gratefully, and Sirius followed right after.

The common room was almost completely empty, and thankfully no one paid attention to the fact that Hailey was walking down the stairs of the boys' dormitories with Sirius Black.

When they found their way out of the common room, both Sirius and Hailey joined James under the Invisibility Cloak. Hailey thought it felt quite weird to be walking in such close proximity with Filch's body. When they reached Filch's office, mostly by Sirius' and James' all-knowing knowledge of the passageways, they stood by the door.

"How much time do we have left?" whispered Sirius to Hailey. They had agreed that James wouldn't talk in case someone happened to walk by and recognize Filch's voice.

Hailey glanced down at the watch on her wrist. "It should be just about…now!"

And sure enough, only a few seconds after, Filch's door swung open. "Ms. Norris, do you smell trouble? Which stinky trouble-maker do we get to punish today?"

James fake gagged as Filch walked by, and as he disappeared from view, whispered, "Blimey guys, I'm bloody repulsive right now, aren't I?"

Neither Hailey nor Sirius replied.

They all walked into Filch's office at once, locked the door, and took the Invisibility Cloak off.

"Let me go ahead and muster up Ms. Norris," Hailey said before James and Sirius could joke around.

Hailey walked over towards a picture of the cat on the desk.

"_Karwat kloon_," muttered Hailey as she pointed her wand towards the picture. Slowly, the cat erupted out of the picture and onto the desk. Hailey looked at Sirius worryingly.

"This…you wouldn't think this could be considered animal abuse, could it?" she asked anxiously.

Sirius rolled his eyes. "Hailey," he began, and Hailey felt those pleasant tingles down her spine when he said her name, "it isn't even an animal."

Sure enough, Sirius strolled over to the desk and stuck his hand out to pet what seemed like a solid cat, but his hand went through her as though she were made up of thin air - which she probably was.

Hailey let out a sigh of relief.

"James, you might want to go stroll outside in the corridor for a bit," suggested Sirius.

James whimpered, which coming from Filch's mouth sounded rather strange. "Why!?"

Hailey suddenly felt a lightbulb go off in her brain. "Sirius, that's a brilliant idea!" she exclaimed. "James, people will think that Filch isn't in his office since the door is closed and the lights are off, so someone could come by wanting to talk to him but would end up having to come back later. We don't want anyone coming during the prank, so maybe if you could just stroll outside the corridor, if any teacher needed to talk to you could do so now…"

"Alright, alright I get it. Snog until the victim gets here, I see how it is," said James sarcastically, a smirk forming on Filch's filthy face.

Hailey's eyes widened and began to immediately defend her herself. "No, really, James, we don't want any unwanted visitors—"

But James' laugh somehow was still coming out of Filch's mouth, and he slowly strolled out of the office, closing the door behind him.

"Git," muttered Hailey as she rested one of her elbows on Filch's desk. Hailey didn't dare let it show that she really wouldn't mind snogging Sirius until Ms. Norris came.

Sirius chuckled. Hailey turned to face him.

"You know, I really didn't come up with that," he said.

Hailey looked at him with a confused expression. "What didn't you come up with?"

Sirius smiled. "The idea surrounding why James should leave us alone."

Hailey rolled her eyes. "Then why did you basically invite your best friend to get lost?"

Sirius sighed. "Do you not understand what situation you're currently in?" He smirked, and Hailey felt damn sure that no other guy had _ever _looked that sexy smirking. "Hailey, you're alone in a secluded room with _me._" When Hailey gave no response, he continued. "Me, _Sirius Black_." Hailey fought back a response by staring at Sirius with emotionless eyes. "Hailey, how much clearer can I get? We have about ten minutes, so I think snogging would be the best route for today—"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," said Hailey as she stopped Sirius from advancing any further on her. "I'm not the type of girl that will throw themselves at any guy they find appealing just so they can have a one-night fling."

Sirius smiled in Hailey's eyes. "Ah, so you find me 'appealing', do you?"

"Damn you."

"Pleasure is all mine."

Hailey sighed and picked up the discarded Invisibility Cloak. "We might want to be ready for when they come back. It could be any second now."

Hailey knew as well as Sirius that Filch and Ms. Norris wouldn't be back for a good while, but Hailey wanted a good excuse to be close to Sirius without loveless snogging. They gathered under the small space the Invisibility Cloak allowed them. They both stood there for a while, silent, their wands illuminating the dark room.

"This is a small space," said Sirius curiously. His gray eyes shown suspiciously as he started to look up and down Hailey's body.

Hailey slapped Sirius' arm. "Sirius! Eyes—" she pointed at her ocean blue ones with her index and middle finger, "—up here!"

He scoffed. "Well _you're _no fun," Sirius accused. He was obviously flirting, and Hailey had to admit that it _was _having an effect on her.

Being under James' Invisibility Cloak in Filch's crammed office was both Heaven and hell. Hailey side-glanced at Sirius. His gorgeous, long, black hair was gently touching her forehead everytime Sirius bent down to talk to Hailey. His skin was simply electrifying; it was tan, muscular, yet it was still slim. Then there were his eyes. They sparkled and glimmered like the silhouette of a ghost from far away. But now in close proximity, they seemed almost blue…or maybe since he wasn't trying to obviously draw attention to himself, his body language became less extravagant, and his eyes could relax. Sirius shifted. His lower arm brushed Hailey's upper. She blushed simply and could feel her forehead get hot, like it always did when she was nervous. Sirius didn't seem to notice or care.

"Blimey, its so weird not being in the thick of the action," Sirius commented. His voice had a natural air to it that she had yet to hear directed to her.

Hailey chuckled. "Sirius, we're the ones doing the actual _prank_," she replied. "I get the notion that you do this often." She wasn't asking him.

Sirius looked offended. "_Me_? Me, Sirius Black, do one prank more than once? Bloody hell, I wouldn't be able to live with myself."

Hailey rolled her eyes and had to literally chew on her gums to stop from beaming madly.

"No, Sirius," she began, "I meant pranks. You guys seem pretty well-known for it."

Sirius shrugged. _He isn't bragging? _thought Hailey.

"Eh, word's gotten around. It's really fun, to tell you the honest truth. Don't believe all the gibberish that Evans tells you about me _liking _to be a prat. I don't like to," he shrugged with a crazy grin, "it's just fun."

Hailey laughed. "You're admitting you're a prat," she said in a voice of mock concern.

Sirius chuckled in return. "Just trying to be honest," he put simply.

They heard the creak of a floorboard. Sirius suddenly lowered his height to ensure that the Cloak would cover his and Hailey's feet, and wrapped his arm around Hailey's shoulders. Hailey couldn't find reasoning behind it.

"Shh," beckoned Sirius as the footsteps became louder.

Hailey couldn't help but comply. Sirius' heartbeats sounded right beside her ear. It sounded so risky, so excited, so _Sirius_…

"Hailey, did you hear me? Move back a bit."

Hailey zapped back into reality with a pang of guilt. She didn't need to be daydreaming about a guy like Sirius. For a girl like her, it was downright unhealthy to be dreaming about a self-absorbed, arrogant git like him, no matter how handsome he might be.

The footsteps started to get louder. Sirius moved Hailey back towards one of the corners of the office.

"What is it, Ms. Norris? Want a treat?" they heard Filch's voice say.

Both Sirius and Hailey looked eachother and silently agreed that this had to be James; there was a note of repulsion in his voice rather than love.

Sirius grinned madly. "Alright, Hailey, wands at the ready—"

Hailey got her wand out from the insides of her robes, and Sirius already had his in his hands. The door opened just a crack, and Ms. Norris walked in. She walked instantly towards Sirius and Hailey. Ms. Norris had a good sense of knowing where trouble lurked. Hailey reached her hands out from under the Cloak for a split second and picked up Ms. Norris. She shrieked and hissed as her eyes met Sirius. Hailey had to cling on to her so that Ms. Norris wouldn't attack Sirius. Since the cat was hissing like mad, Sirius muttered a _Muffliato _spell.

Hailey sighed as she finally spoke her frustration. "Merlin, Sirius, this cat seems to really hate you."

"Yeah, well, it hates a lot of people, actually," replied Sirius dryly.

Hailey watched as the cat started to die down, but sunk her claws in Hailey's arms where she was holding the animal. Hailey yelped.

"Merlin's beard! Sirius, could you help me?"

Sirius chuckled. "Sorry, Hailey. I guess you could say that I'm more of a dog person."

Hailey mouthed a dirty phrase at Sirius, who only laughed in return.

"Here," he suggested as he tilted his head over his shoulder. Right beside a filing cabinet, put in a place that neither Sirius nor Hailey had seen before, was an animal's cage. Sirius threw the Invisability Cloak off of him and Hailey and sat it on the ground; he picked up the cage and opened the unlocked door.

Hailey almost threw Ms. Norris into it. She looked down at her arms. "Oh great…" Hailey muttered, not expecting a response. There wasn't time for a response.

Yet, Sirius looked down and said, "Hold out your arm, Hailey." The way he said it was so kind, so soft, so quiet, and Hailey couldn't help but feel those satisfactory tingles run throughout her body when he said her name and touched her arm.

"_Tergeo_," whispered Sirius as he pointed his wand towards Hailey's arm. The bleeding went away, and the cuts vanished.

Hailey beamed at him. "Thanks, Sirius."

Sirius looked down at the cage in disgust. "Its good you came up with your plan, Hailey. I don't think I could have lived a week with _this_," he said nastily while inclining his head towards Ms. Norris.

When they both heard the sound of hurried footsteps, Sirius let go of Hailey's arm and Hailey, once again, got her wand out. Sirius looked down to make sure that the cage with Ms. Norris was still there, grabbed the Invisability Cloak and placed it on top of him and Hailey, and started staring at the desk where a carbon copy of the cat was prancing around in little circles.

They watched as the office door was calmly pushed open. Filch walked in his office, yet seemed to be in a very good mood; Hailey and Sirius' hopeful presumptions came true when Filch gave James' signal: He tapped on the desk three times, whistled to the Hogwarts theme song, and lastly, sighed and said, "I love my job." Those were three things that everyone involved in the prank knew that the real Filch would never do.

"What spells do you intend to use?" asked Hailey mildly.

"Anything that will faze Filch enough that he'll never want to leave that cat alone again," replied Sirius with a crooked smirk.

Hailey rolled her eyes. "Look, just because it's only a clone doesn't mean we can go around using Unforgivable Curses—"

Sirius cut her off. "—Oh Merlin, Hailey, _never_. That's my family's job, not mine." Hailey didn't know what to say after that, and after thanking Merlin that Sirius had cast a _Muffliato _spell earlier, didn't say anything.

James suddenly cast a worried look over in the direction where Hailey and Sirius stood hidden. Filch must have had excellent hearing, for James whispered, "He's coming!"

Sirius, having quick reflexes, pointed his wand at the cat and announced _"Alarte Ascendare!_"James easily mimicked Sirius' movements, though said nothing, and the clone of Ms. Norris flew up into the air right as the real Filch walked into the door.

The plan, at that moment, was going exactly how it was planned to go. Peter would set a distraction in the library to cause Filch and Ms. Norris to go downstairs. Remus would check the time every now and then, and as soon as it was time for Filch to go back up, he'd signal Peter to give up and allow Filch to give him a punishment. Ms. Norris would come back up first, sensing trouble, followed by James who still looked like Filch. Hailey and Sirius would get Ms. Norris under the Cloak and make sure she stayed there while the rest of the prank happened. The rest of the prank, however, was no longer to kidnap Ms. Norris. Now, it was just to faze Filch into feeling like his cat had to be with him at all times. This they planned to do by simply hexing the cat's alter self. Then, if somehow Filch managed to get through the zig-zags of spells to James' wand, there would be no trace of magic on it because Hailey and Sirius were the ones doing the actual magic, even if it looked like James was…or in this case, Filch was.

The real Filch's mouth dropped and his eyes widened. "Ms…Ms. Norris! You get back down here right now!"

"He's so intent on the bloody cat that he doesn't even see himself sitting right in front of it," said Sirius incredulously. "He's such an idiot."

"_Athru corcora,_" casted Hailey as the cat landed with a thud on the desk. The cat's fur seemed to start fizzing up and down, then laid back down unfazed with its fur now purple. That seemed to be about the moment that Filch noticed James "doing" all of this.

Filch's mouth dropped and his knees became instantly wobbly. Hailey suddenly felt a bang of pity for the old man. Sure, he might have been mean and sour, but Hailey started to put herself in his shoes. She thought about if she had walked into a room with Cate being tortured, and right behind the cooing Cate would be a carbon copy of herself, Hailey…she would be mortified. Hailey was sure she'd start screaming and pinching herself, hoping to wake up from a nightmare.

So right after Sirius cast a spell that made Ms. Norris grow lots of large boils, Hailey tugged his sleeve bag. "Sirius," she started, "we need to stop!"

Sirius laughed. "What are you talking about!?"

"Just look at him," whispered Hailey. Sirius turned his head. Even James had noticed, and looked rather pitiful himself.

Filch was kneeled down in front of his desk, his head in his hands, sobbing. Hailey started to consider that maybe the reason Filch was always so nasty was because no one was kind to him. Maybe the reason why Filch only cared about Ms. Norris was because she was the only one that didn't judge him or criticize him.

"_Anti-Jinx_," whispered Hailey as she pointed at the carbon copy of Ms. Norris, who suddenly became fuller, livelier, her natural shade and the boils disappeared.

Filch never saw that happen, though. He had gotten up and ran from his office, screaming, "SOMEONE GET THE HEADMASTER! QUICK!"

That was the one thing that Hailey hadn't seen coming.

_ϟ_

* * *

_A/N: If you've never read an Author's Note previous to this one, basically every chapter is given a theme song. This chapter's song is "It's Time," originally performed by Imagine Dragons, but my personal favorite being by Glee. I think it accurately portrays the excitement and rawness of Hailey and Julie's first few days at Hogwarts and how they want to explore new things and meet new people. I kind of chose this song for many of the same reasons I chose "Taking Chances," yet there's something about this song that screams mischief and fun in a unique and Chapter Five-y way, haha. Also, this story appears on Wattpad under this same username, so don't come across it and think someone's stolen this story. I just made two accounts. I LOVE reviews, so please feel free to review even if you think all you'll do is spazz or something. I also have a tumblr up for this story, which you can visit by going to my profile page. I just never check messages here, and plus I love tumblr. :) As I said before, I really don't know when Chapter Six will come up, but I do know it WILL. I'm sorry the story's been on hiatus, but things happen, and now life goes on. Thanks for actually taking interest in my story though, especially with the lack of the Marauders in previous chapters! I love you all! Also, PLEASE don't steal my O.C. characters. If you want to use them in a fanfic or RP please message, ask, or tweet me and I'll most likely let you. I worked really hard to make these characters come to life, so please don't steal that away from me! Thanks. :) Love you guys._


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